A technical issue at the UK’s air traffic control center caused disruptions at major airports in London and across the country on Wednesday. The problem was later resolved, and flight departures resumed.
NATS, the UK’s air traffic control provider, confirmed in a post on X that “our systems are fully operational and air traffic capacity is returning to normal.”
“Departures at all airports have resumed, and we are working with affected airlines and airports to clear the backlog safely. We apologize to everyone impacted by this issue,” NATS added.
The outage, announced by NATS 20 minutes earlier, affected Heathrow Airport, the UK’s busiest airport and the largest in Europe.
“Heathrow flights have resumed following a technical issue at the NATS Swanwick air traffic control center. Passengers are advised to check with their airline before traveling,” said a spokesperson for the airport.
Operations also resumed at Gatwick and Edinburgh airports, while London City Airport had reported earlier disruptions. The duration of the outage was not immediately clear.
In August 2023, flights across the UK were similarly disrupted due to a malfunction in the automatic processing of flight plans.
Following that incident, the UK’s aviation regulator instructed NATS to reassess its contingency plans for outages after the disruption led to over 100 million pounds ($133 million) in refunds and compensation, according to airline executives
Read more: Flight Operations Resume in Lahore and Karachi Airports
