UK airports hit by fresh disruption after air traffic control glitch

UK travellers faced more misery on Wednesday (September 9, 2026) with more than 150 flights scrapped across the country, as Britain’s air traffic control service scrambled to recover from a technical glitch that sparked chaos.

Aircraft tracking website FlightRadar24 said 177 flights scheduled for Wednesday (September 9) had already been axed, following 1,300 cancellations to and from UK airports on Tuesday (September 8).

“Nearly all the flights cancelled on Wednesday (September 9) were at Britain’s busiest airport Heathrow in London,” FlightRadar24 wrote on X.

The National Air Traffic Services (NATS) said late Tuesday (September 8) it was still working to resolve disruption following a “system issue”.

“Work is continuing to assist airlines and airports recover from today’s disruption,” NATS posted on X. “This has been a very complex recovery and has created difficulties for the whole aviation network, from which it will take time to recover.”