UK airports disrupted by air traffic control issue

Britain's air traffic controllers reported a technical issue that disrupted flights at major airports in London and elsewhere in the country on Wednesday, though later said the issue had been resolved.

"Our systems are fully operational and air traffic capacity is returning to normal," NATS, the country's air traffic control provider, said in a post on X.

"Departures at all airports have resumed and we are working with affected airlines and airports to clear the backlog safely. We apologise to everyone affected by this issue."

The outage included Heathrow Airport, Britain's largest airport and Europe's busiest.

"Flights at Heathrow have resumed following a technical issue at the NATS Swanwick air traffic control centre. We are advising passengers to check with their airline before travelling," an airport spokesperson said.

Gatwick Airport and Edinburgh Airport also said operations were resuming.

London City Airport had earlier also reported disruption. It was not clear exactly how long the outage had lasted.

In August 2023, flights across Britain were disrupted after the automatic processing of flight plans malfunctioned.

Britain's aviation regulator last year said NATS needed to review its contingency plans after the outage, which airline bosses said cost them over 100 million pounds (AED 488.7 million) in refunds and compensation.

ℹ️ Technical issue at Swanwick

Our systems are fully operational and air traffic capacity is returning to normal.
(1/2) https://t.co/69ftwzLeSK pic.twitter.com/KKDercVfqa

— NATS (@NATS) July 30, 2025

ℹ️Technical issue at Swanwick

Our engineers have now restored the system that was affected this afternoon. We are in the process of resuming normal operations in the London area.
(1/2) https://t.co/CI9ZV9Voir pic.twitter.com/g5XgVLgyQ6

— NATS (@NATS) July 30, 2025