Operations at London's two largest airports were disrupted due to a "technical issue"
Heathrow and Gatwick Airports Are Delaying Flights / Photo: Unsplash/Tomek Baginski
London’s two largest airports—Heathrow and Gatwick—are experiencing significant flight delays on Tuesday, September 8, due to a “technical issue,” according to the Financial Times. Although some planes are departing from Heathrow, even those are taking off two or more hours behind schedule, the newspaper reports, citing data from the flight-tracking service Flightradar24.
National Air Traffic Services (NATS), the organization that provides air traffic control services, stated that it is “investigating a technical issue” that “led to some disruptions in flight departures.” It did not provide any further details.
The issues have not yet affected incoming flights, Heathrow reported on the social media platform X. A spokesperson for British Airways, the national carrier, told The Telegraph that the situation is “completely beyond the carrier’s control.” “Like all airlines, we are experiencing some disruptions to our flight schedule as a result of a technical issue affecting air traffic control services,” the British Airways spokesperson noted.
The technical glitch also affected departures from Manchester, Stansted (considered one of London’s airports), and East Midlands (Leicestershire) airports, according to the Manchester Airport Group, which operates all three, as reported by The Telegraph. Edinburgh Airport (Scotland) stated that it is aware of Nats’ technical issues, which “may affect” its operations. A spokesperson for Birmingham Airport stated that the technical issue is affecting airspace in the south of the UK and is impacting a significant number of departing flights across the country, The Telegraph reports. Belfast Airport (Northern Ireland) also warned of “some issues,” the newspaper reports.
Eurocontrol, the agency that monitors European airspace, has warned of disruptions over London, southern England, and Wales until 9 p.m., according to the FT. Some flights from continental Europe are being delayed at their departure airports, The Telegraph added, citing Eurocontrol.
This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor
