Over 1,750 Flights Canceled as U.K. Air Traffic Control System Fails

Over 1,750 flights across the U.K. were cancelled on Wednesday after a technical fault at NATS, the U.K.’s air traffic control provider, left aircraft and flight crews out of position.

The fault, which occurred early in the morning, has since been fixed, but not before leaving at least 250,000 passengers stranded across London, Manchester, and other U.K. cities.

Every major British airline has been hit, including British Airways and easyJet, along with a host of major European carriers like KLM, Ryanair, and more. Because those British airports serve as major European hubs, the issues, particularly in London, are impacting other key airports across the continent.

According to FlightAware, flight delays are mounting at Josep Tarradellas Barcelona-El Prat Airport (BCN), Amsterdam Airport Schiphol (AMS), Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport (CDG), and others.

NATS confirmed that a cyberattack has been ruled out as the cause and that a full investigation into the failure is underway. U.K. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has called for NATS Chief Executive Martin Rolfe to address system reliability, while airline executives, including Ryanair leadership, are calling for accountability following not just Wednesday’s issues, but repeated technical issues from NATS.

With aircraft and flight crews displaced across Europe, airlines and airports are warning that schedule disruptions and knock-on delays will likely linger for several days. Travel advisors are strongly urged to advise clients traveling to or through the region to check with their airline before heading to the airport.