Nearly 1,100 flights cancelled after UK air traffic control glitch

Almost 1,100 flights to and from UK airports were cancelled Tuesday due to what the country's air traffic control service called a technical issue, in the latest glitch to spark travel chaos.

A total of 1,055 flights to and from British airports had been axed by 8:00 pm (1900 GMT), according to the aircraft tracking website FlightRadar24.

"Recovery from today's system issue has taken longer than we had hoped," Britain's air traffic control service, known as NATS, said on X early evening.

"Our system issue is now resolved, we are operating normally and working as hard as possible to clear the backlog of flights," it noted, adding "this is hugely frustrating and apologise unreservedly".

Tuesday's issues follow a technical glitch in July last year that saw scores of flights to and from the UK cancelled and which prompted anger from airline chiefs.

Britain saw its worst air systems failure in years in 2023, with more than 700,000 passengers affected after hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled.

Heathrow Airport, Britain's largest and busiest airport, in west London, confirmed it was among those affected on Tuesday, along with Gatwick to the south of the UK capital.

"It's just an absolute nightmare down there," healthcare worker Josie Donoghue said of Gatwick after leaving the airport, having had to disembark her flight to Ireland after three hours stuck on the runway.

"Getting through that airport was like trying to get out of Alcatraz," she told Britain's domestic Press Association news agency.

Liverpool, Birmingham and Edinburgh airports were also affected, while Dublin Aiport in Ireland said it had cancelled dozens of flights.

British Airways said it was forced to cancel or divert more than 100 flights, impacting tens of thousands of its customers.

Irish no-frills carrier Ryanair said more than 65,000 of its passengers had been disrupted and it had cancelled more than 50 flights.

Arsenal, due to play Napoli in the Champions League Wednesday in the southern Italian city, were forced to cancel a press conference ahead of the match after the team's flight was delayed.

British Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said on X she was "seeking assurances that lessons will be learned and systems that support aviation are up to the job".

But Ryanair COO Neal McMahon repeated his calls for NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe to be fired, accusing him of having again "failed UK travellers".

"Enough is enough, it's time for the UK government to intervene... and put somebody in charge who can do the job."