Nats apologises after 2,000 flights cancelled in major air traffic failure
Ministry of Defence denies claims a military jet caused the September 8 system fault that grounded flights at major UK airports.
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National Air Traffic Services (Nats) has apologised for a significant technical failure that caused widespread disruption to UK air travel on September 8. The outage led to more than 2,000 flights being cancelled and affected hundreds of thousands of passengers, with major airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, and Luton experiencing grounded flights for approximately four hours.
Investigation Launched into System Fault
UK air traffic control outage caused by military flight data
Over 2,000 flights cancelled on Tuesday after system failure, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has initiated an independent investigation into the cause of the failure, to be conducted by the Civil Aviation Authority. This inquiry will run alongside an ongoing investigation by Nats. A spokesperson for the Ministry of Defence has denied claims that a military aircraft was responsible for the system fault, stating that they do not believe there is any indication of an error on the part of the military. The MoD has indicated it will not comment further while the Nats investigation is ongoing, which is expected to conclude next week.
A Nats spokesperson stated that it would be inappropriate to speculate on the cause while investigations continue. The organisation, which manages UK air traffic control and is partly government-owned, has previously experienced technical issues. In 2023, a computer failure during the August bank holiday resulted in significant travel chaos for an estimated 700,000 people, and a smaller outage in 2025 led to 150 flight cancellations. Nats is structured as a public-private partnership, with the government holding a 49% stake.
Heidi Alexander commented on the incident, stating, "I do not believe this issue was unavoidable." Airlines are not automatically liable for compensating passengers for disruptions caused by air traffic control failures.
Thousands of UK flights cancelled; passengers denied compensation
A technical fault with air traffic control services is likely to be classified as 'extraordinary circumstances', meaning airlines are not legally obliged to pay compensation.
Questions this report answers
+What caused the major air traffic control failure on September 8?
The exact cause of the air traffic control system failure on September 8 is still under investigation by Nats and the Civil Aviation Authority. The Ministry of Defence has denied reports that a military aircraft was responsible for the disruption.
+How many flights were affected by the disruption?
More than 2,000 flights were cancelled as a result of the air traffic control system failure. Hundreds of thousands of passengers experienced delays across major UK airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick, and Luton.
+What is being done to investigate the incident?
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has ordered an independent investigation by the Civil Aviation Authority. This will run alongside an ongoing inquiry being conducted by Nats, the organisation managing the UK's air traffic control.
+Has Nats apologised for the disruption?
Yes, Nats has issued an apology for the technical fault. This marks the third major technical failure for the air traffic control provider in the last three years.
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UK air traffic control outage caused by military flight data