UK Air Traffic System Failure Cancels Over 2,000 Flights

A major failure in the United Kingdom's air traffic control system on Tuesday, September 8, around 1:00 PM local time, caused widespread disruptions across airports. The issue originated at the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) control center in Swanwick, Hampshire, which manages a significant portion of airspace over England and Wales, including the London area.

According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, 1,750 out of approximately 5,800 scheduled flights were canceled on Tuesday, with an additional 300 plus canceled on Wednesday, September 9. This brings the total number of canceled flights over the two days to nearly 2,100, affecting around 330,000 passengers. Major airports like Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, and Stansted experienced severe impacts, with some operations halting for several hours, The Guardian reported.

The disruption had minimal impact on flights to and from Israel. While at least one Wizz Air flight from Tel Aviv to Gatwick was canceled, other flights between Israel and London, particularly through Luton, continued to operate.

NATS attributed the problem to a technical malfunction in the flight plan processing system, ruling out a cyberattack. NATS CEO Martin Rolfe stated that the issue was resolved approximately four hours after it began, though restoring the full aviation network took considerably longer. However, the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, citing European sources, suggested the failure might have been caused by a "military flight plan" with erroneous data entered into the Swanwick system, potentially involving a military aircraft's route with specific geolocations that overloaded the automated software.

NATS has not confirmed this version, noting that the current incident differs from malfunctions that caused disruptions in 2023 and 2025. The failure prompted strong reactions from airlines, including Ryanair and Wizz Air, which called for action against NATS management. The British government has requested a detailed report from Rolfe within a week, and the UK Civil Aviation Authority will conduct an independent investigation.