Technical glitch disrupts more than 400 flights in Britain

Britain’s air traffic control service, NATS, announced on Tuesday that more than 400 flights were canceled at airports across the country and to and from it due to a “technical glitch,” marking the latest disruption to disrupt air travel.

According to the flight-tracking website Flightradar24, 425 flights to and from British airports had been canceled by 5 p.m. (16:00 GMT) due to the malfunction.

NATS said on the X platform: “We have implemented a solution to the problem, and our flight system has begun to resume normal operations.”

It added: “We continue to work closely with airlines and airports to restore operations,” offering apologies to passengers for the disruptions to their flights.

The glitch follows a technical failure in July of last year that led to the cancellation of dozens of flights to and from the United Kingdom, sparking anger among airline executives. The country also experienced its worst air traffic control system outage in nearly a decade in 2023, which caused delays or cancellations of hundreds of flights and affected more than 700,000 passengers.

Heathrow Airport, the largest and busiest in Britain, located west of London, confirmed it was among the airports affected by the glitch on Tuesday, along with Gatwick Airport south of the capital. Liverpool, Birmingham, and Edinburgh airports were also impacted, while Dublin Airport in Ireland announced the cancellation of dozens of flights.

British Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said on social media: “I am aware of a technical issue affecting flights at airports including Heathrow and Gatwick,” adding, “Engineers have identified the problem and are working to resolve it.”

She continued: “I understand this will cause frustration for passengers, and I apologize for the inconvenience,” urging them to check the status of their flights with their airlines.