(qlmbusinessnews.com . Thu 31st Jul, 2025) London, UK —
Over 150 Flights Cancelled in UK Due to Radar-Related Air Traffic Snag
Air travel in the United Kingdom faced significant turmoil following a glitch in the air traffic control system, causing widespread delays and cancellations across several major airports.
For a brief but chaotic 20-minute period, the glitch disrupted operations, leading to an extensive backlog of flights that saw thousands of aircraft unable to take off from airports such as Heathrow, Stansted, Manchester, and Edinburgh. By 22:00 BST, the turmoil had escalated to over 150 flight cancellations to and from the UK.
The air traffic management company NATS identified the glitch as being “radar-related” but swiftly managed to rectify the situation by deploying a backup system. In a bid to maintain safety, NATS conceded that flight traffic had to be temporarily scaled down. The company has also confirmed there is no evidence to suggest the incident was a result of a cyber-attack.
The government has disclosed it is “working closely” with NATS to ascertain the root cause of the disruption, marking the second such incident to affect NATS within two years.
In response to the fiasco, NATS issued an apology for the inconvenience caused. The organisation mentioned that it had to limit the number of aircraft in the London airspace following a “technical issue” at its Swanwick air traffic control centre in Hampshire. Thankfully, engineers were able to quickly restore the impacted system.
The snag resulted in numerous flights within the UK being grounded, with some being rerouted to alternative airports. When the service was finally resumed, NATS committed to collaborating with the airlines and airports affected to alleviate the backlog as safely as possible.
British Airways expressed regret over the disruption, emphasising that the predicament was beyond their control but assuring customers that efforts were being made to resume normal operations promptly. Similarly, EasyJet urged travelers with Wednesday evening flights to stay informed via the latest updates and promised to reach out to those affected directly.
Heathrow Airport advised passengers to communicate with their airlines prior to travelling and apologised for any inconvenience caused. Birmingham Airport anticipated a return to normal schedules by Thursday, with Manchester Airport expecting no further disruptions.
Among the affected passengers was 18-year-old Asha from Manchester, who described being “stuck” on an EasyJet aircraft, her initial holiday plans now in disarray. Others shared their frustration and the impact of the delays on important events such as weddings.
Calls for accountability have emerged in light of the disruption, with Liberal Democrat leader Ed Davey urging the government to investigate what he termed as “utterly unacceptable” situation. Similarly, Ryanair’s chief operating officer Neal McMahon criticized the repeat failure in air traffic control systems and called for the resignation of NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe.
Flight data from Cirium illustrated the extent of the impact, with 84 departures and 71 arrivals cancelled, equating to 3% and 2% of all flights, respectively. London Heathrow bore the brunt with a total of 29 departures and 17 arrivals cancelled, though it should be noted that not all cancellations might be attributed directly to the air traffic control issues.
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