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Major UK airports hit by fresh air traffic control glitch, thousands affected
Published : Monday, 21 September, 2026 at 7:01 PM
Observer Online Report
Thousands of passengers at major UK airports faced delays on Monday after another technical problem at the National Air Traffic Services (Nats) disrupted flights across northern England and Scotland.
The issue occurred at Nats’ Prestwick control centre in Scotland, affecting flights at several airports. Passengers were advised to check their flight status with their airlines before travelling.
Nats initially imposed air traffic restrictions to maintain safety while engineers worked to resolve the problem. The agency later confirmed that the technical issue had been fixed but warned that disruption could continue as restrictions were lifted.
“We apologise for the disruption,” a Nats spokesperson said.
Glasgow Airport passengers reportedly faced hours-long waits on the tarmac, while London Luton Airport said some domestic flights had been affected. Several flights at Manchester Airport were also delayed.
Nats said most airports south of Manchester were broadly unaffected, although flights travelling north could still face delays.
British Airways and easyJet warned passengers of possible disruption, while Ryanair said more than 25,000 of its passengers were expected to be affected, with more than 140 flights delayed.
Ryanair's chief operations officer Neal McMahon renewed calls for Nats chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign, accusing the organisation of repeated system failures.
EasyJet also criticised the resilience of Nats’ systems, saying the latest failure highlighted the need for action to prevent repeated disruptions.
Airlines UK chief executive Tim Alderslade said passengers and airlines “deserve better” and called for the UK’s air traffic control system to be made more resilient.
The latest incident comes just two weeks after a major Nats system failure caused widespread disruption, with thousands of passengers affected and hundreds of flights cancelled.
- MaT
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Editor : Iqbal Sobhan Chowdhury
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Published by the Editor on behalf of the Observer Ltd. from Globe Printers, 24/A, New Eskaton Road, Ramna, Dhaka.
Editorial, News and Commercial Offices : Aziz Bhaban (2nd floor), 93, Motijheel C/A, Dhaka-1000.
Phone: PABX- 41053001-06; Advertisement: 41053012; 01793317829, 01550707291, E-mail: [email protected], [email protected] Online: email: [email protected] 41053014; 01550707297 Advertisement: 01550707296
