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Britain’s National Air Traffic Services (NATS) struggled to restore normal operations on Wednesday after a major technical failure caused widespread aviation chaos, forcing airlines to cancel over 150 additional flights.
Aircraft tracking data confirmed that 177 flights scheduled for Wednesday were scrapped, building on the 1,300 cancellations that grounded travellers across the country on Tuesday.
The vast majority of Wednesday’s cancellations centred on London Heathrow, where airport officials warned that knock-on delays will persist throughout the day.
The system breakdown severely impacted major carriers and regional hubs, leaving tens of thousands of passengers stranded on runways and in terminal halls across Heathrow, Gatwick, Liverpool, Birmingham, Edinburgh, and Dublin.
British Airways cancelled or diverted more than 100 flights, while Ryanair reported disruptions for over 65,000 passengers.
The travel chaos even affected professional sports teams, forcing Arsenal to cancel a pre-match Champions League press conference in Italy after technical delays grounded their flight.
NATS apologised for the widespread disruption, noting that engineers had resolved the core software glitch but faced a complex recovery process to clear the massive flight backlog.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander demanded assurances that aviation authorities would learn from the failure, while airline executives fiercely criticised NATS leadership.
Ryanair Chief Operating Officer Neal McMahon called on the UK government to intervene immediately and replace NATS Chief Executive Martin Rolfe, accusing the agency of failing British travellers once again.
