Air traffic control UK flights cancelled: London Heathrow, Gatwick, City Airport and Stansted updates

Passengers looking to fly from London’s airports are being advised to check their flight status, as some cancellations and delays continue following a nationwide technical issue.

Thousands of people were stranded at airports yesterday (August 28) after the country’s air traffic control systems suffered a technical failure just after midday.

The problem was resolved within hours, though delays are expected to last several days due to issues including planes and staff being in the wrong locations.

According to the aviation analytics firm Cirium, 790 flights were cancelled departing UK airports yesterday and 785 arrivals, equivalent to around 27% of all flights leaving and arriving the country.

Heathrow was the airport which saw the highest number, followed by Gatwick and Manchester.

In a statement released at 3.15pm on Monday, NATS, National Air Traffic Services agency whose system had failed, said it had “identified and remedied” the technical issue.

“The flight planning issue affected the system’s ability to automatically process flight plans, meaning that flight plans had to be processed manually which cannot be done at the same volume, hence the requirement for traffic flow restrictions.  Our priority is always to ensure that every flight in the UK remains safe and we are sincerely sorry for the disruption this is causing. Please contact your airline for information on how this may affect your flight.”

On Tuesday morning, the transport secretary Mark Harper told BBC Breakfast the issue was technical, with no suggestion of it being due to a cyber attack.

But what is the situation at airports in or around London?

Gatwick Airport

A spokesperson for Gatwick Airport told LondonWorld it plans to operate a normal schedule, though warned there are likely to be some delays and cancellations.

“Passengers should speak to their airline for further information. We apologise for any inconvenience,” they added.

Heathrow Airport

Heathrow Airport’s website has a message on its homepage specifically on the flight disruptions.

It says: “The technical issue which limited UK air traffic yesterday has been fixed by NATS. However, schedules remain significantly disrupted. We ask passengers to only travel to the airport if their flight is confirmed as still operating. We are working as hard as we can to minimize the knock-on impacts and assist those who have been affected.

For all the latest flight information including arrival and departure times please contact your airline.”

A link is also added, taking visitors directly to its webpage on airline contact information.

A Heathrow spokesperson said: “Schedules continue to be affected by yesterday’s restrictions on UK airspace. While the majority of passengers will still be able to travel, there will unfortunately be some disruption on some routes, including flight cancellations.

“It is important for all passengers to check the status of their flight with their airline before traveling to Heathrow.

“Teams across the airport continue to do everything they can to minimise the impact on passengers and support those whose journeys have been affected.”

London City Airport

London City Airport shared a post from NATS on X, formerly Twitter, following the outage yesterday.

In its re-post, it asked passengers to “ensure that you contact your airline before travelling to the airport”.

Stansted Airport

In a message uploaded to its website, Stansted Airport has written: “As a result of the nationwide technical problem experienced by NATS on Monday 28 August, there continues to be some delays and cancellations. Please check your flight status with your airline before travelling to the airport.

“As some flights are arriving and departing on slightly adjusted schedules, our terminal might be busier than anticipated. However, our teams will be working with our airlines and their handling agents to get you through the airport as smoothly as possible. We thank you for your understanding.”

A spokesperson also told LondonWorld: “A near normal flight schedule is in operation today at London Stansted with only a small number of flights cancellations – passengers were advised of these cancellations yesterday by their airlines.

“There are some relatively minor delays affecting some flights this morning as a result of the knock-on effects of yesterday’s problem at NATS but nothing of note.

“As always in these situations, passengers are advised to check their flight status with their airline.”