Thousands of travellers across the UK faced severe travel disruption after a major technical failure hit the nation’s air traffic control system, NATS.
Despite the technical glitch being resolved, the fallout has left over 330 000 passengers stranded or delayed at major hubs like Heathrow and Gatwick.
With aircraft and flight crews scattered out of position across Europe, carriers like British Airways and easyJet raced to clear a massive backlog of cancelled flights and chaotic terminals.
The disruption began on Tuesday, September 8, and continued into Wednesday, September 9, as airlines worked to recover from the outage. NATS ruled out a cyberattack as the cause.
According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, 1,746 flights were cancelled on Tuesday, with a further 399 cancellations on Wednesday.
Industry body Airlines UK reported that 155,000 passengers had flights cancelled, while approximately 180,000 experienced delays.
Passengers shared footage on TikTok and X showing crowded terminals and travellers waiting with their luggage as the crisis unfolded.
Major airlines, including British Airways and easyJet, were among those affected.
British Airways cancels more than 190 flights
British Airways issued several updates to passengers on its website as the disruption continued.
The airline said its flights were still being affected by the technical issue involving NATS, the organisation responsible for managing air traffic services in the UK.
Although the technical problem had been resolved, British Airways warned of a knock-on effect because aircraft and crew had been left out of position across its network.
“While the issue has now been resolved, there will be a knock-on effect as a number of aircraft and crew across our network remain out of place, which will affect some flights,” the airline said.
Passengers were advised to check their flight status through Manage My Booking before travelling to the airport.
Those who had not been contacted directly were told to travel as planned and arrive at the airport at their original departure time.
Passengers with connecting flights booked on the same ticket were also advised that British Airways would automatically rebook their onward journey if a delay put them at risk of missing their connection.
On Wednesday, British Airways said its teams had worked overnight to create a new flight schedule and operate as many services as possible.
However, the airline said it had been forced to cancel more than 190 flights from its planned schedule because aircraft and crew remained out of position.
British Airways apologised to affected customers, saying it understood the impact the incident had had on tens of thousands of passengers.
The airline also warned that its telephone and online-chat services were experiencing extremely high demand.
Passengers whose flights had been cancelled were asked not to come to the airport while alternative arrangements were being made.
Customers who no longer wished to travel on Wednesday were offered the option of moving their flights free of charge to Sunday, September 13.
Changes could be made through Manage My Booking, while passengers could also check alternative flights on the British Airways website.
Why were UK flights still being disrupted?
Although the air-traffic-control problem had been resolved, its effects continued after the original fault was fixed.
When flights are cancelled or significantly delayed, aircraft and crew can end up in different locations from those in which they are scheduled to operate.
Airlines then have to reorganise aircraft, crew and passenger itineraries, creating further delays and cancellations.
Passengers travelling through Heathrow, Gatwick and other affected UK airports were therefore advised to check their flight status with their airline before leaving for the airport and to monitor official updates for changes to their journey.
zamandosi.cele@nationalmg.co.za