Flights delayed across UK by new air traffic control failure

Airlines are demanding “firm actions” to improve air traffic control “resilience” after a second technical issue in less than two weeks caused further disruption to flights.

National Air Traffic Services (Nats), which provides ATC for 15 UK airports, said engineers had been called to deal with an issue at its Prestwick centre, which looks after Scotland and the north of England.

Nats has since reported that the issue has been fixed, and that the service is working with airlines and airports to safely remove the remaining air traffic restrictions.

But dozens of flights have been cancelled across Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north of England.

Flights disrupted across north of UK – what you need to know

LONDON, UNITED KINGDOM - SEPTEMBER 08: Passengers wait inside and around London Heathrow Airport following widespread flight delays and cancellations caused by a technical failure in National Air Traffic Services' (NATS) flight processing system in London, United Kingdom, on September 08, 2026. Technical issues are causing disruptions in flight departures at UK airports, Britain's air traffic control service said Wednesday. (Photo by Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty Images)

Flights across the UK – particularly Scotland, Northern Ireland and the north of England – are facing disruption due to a “technical issue” with air traffic control.

Here is everything you need to know – including the airports affected.

What caused the problem?

Nats, which runs air traffic control, has said the issue at its Prestwick centre in Ayrshire is “now fixed”, and that it is working to “safely lift air traffic regulations as quickly as we can”. It said the glitch was a “connectivity issue with part of our systems network”.

CRAWLEY, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 09: Passengers wait for flights and connections at the South terminal of Gatwick Airport on September 09, 2026 in Crawley, England. Airlines have warned travellers should expect further disruption to journeys on Wednesday following a "technical issue" that grounded flights to and from some of the UK's largest airports on Tuesday, Including London Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, and Birmingham. Air traffic control provider NATS have said the issue has been resolved, but the cancellation of nearly 2,000 flights is having knock-on effects in the UK and abroad, as airlines scramble to rebook affected passengers. (Photo by Dan Kitwood/Getty Images)
Travellers lay on the floor with their luggage at the South Terminal of London Gatwick airport near Crawley, southern England on September 9, 2026, following second day of major disruption due an issue affecting the NATS air traffic control systems. UK travellers faced more misery on September 9, with more than 150 flights scrapped across the country, as Britain's air traffic control service scrambled to recover from a technical glitch that sparked chaos. (Photo by JUSTIN TALLIS / AFP via Getty Images)

Second failure in two weeks

This is the second failure at Nats in less than a fortnight.

But it said this most recent disruption has “nothing to do” with the software defect that led to the cancellation of 2,000 flights across the UK earlier this month.

(FILES) This photograph taken on February 5, 2024 shows EasyJet planes on the tarmac of the Saint Exupery Airport in Colombier Saugnieu, southeastern France. British no-frills airline EasyJet on April 16, 2026 said it expects to post a deeper first-half loss compared with one year earlier after the Middle East war sent jet fuel prices soaring. (Photo by JEFF PACHOUD / AFP via Getty Images)
TOPSHOT - Cancelled flights are pictured on an electronic check-in display board at Terminal 3 of London Heathrow airport, west of London on September 8, 2026, following major disruption due an issue affecting the NATS air traffic control systems. Flights to and from the UK were cancelled on on September 8, due to a "technical issue" affecting UK's National Air Traffic Services (NATS), which says it is working to resolve the situation. (Photo by Henry NICHOLLS / AFP via Getty Images)

EasyJet said this “once again calls into questions the resilience of Nats’ systems”.

Airports report disruption

Airports across the UK have reported varying degrees of disruption. They include:

  • and – Arrivals and departures.
  •  – Issue causing some delays.
  • – Experiencing “some delays”.
  • – Urging passengers to contact their airline.
  • – Experiencing some delays and cancellations similar to other airports.
  •  – Experiencing “some disruption” and “working closely” with Nats to resolve the issue.
  • – Warns that there “will be disruption” to both arrivals and departures.

Cindy Crawford’s son Presley Gerber dies in rehab aged 27

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA - JANUARY 20: Presley Walker Gerber attends the world premiere of "Infinite Icon: A Visual Memoir" at AMC The Grove 14 on January 20, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Monica Schipper/WireImage)

Presley Gerber, the son of supermodel Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber, has died at the age of 27.

The former model died on Sunday at a rehab facility, according to the Los Angeles county medical examiner. The cause of death has not been disclosed.

A closer look at the detail

Gerber, who was the eldest child of the celebrity couple, and brother of model Kaia Gerber, had spoken openly about his mental health and drug use in recent years.

His sister mentioned his “decade-long struggle with drug addiction” in the September 2026 issue of .

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Mental health struggles

Having struggled with mental health, depression and some other things that come along with that, I think that whether I help one person or a hundred people get out of that place that I was in at one point in my life, that’s all I need to do.

Speaking to podcast in 2023, Gerber hoped that sharing his story would help others suffering with mental health issues. 

Presley Gerber, Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber at the premiere of Apple TV+'s "Palm Royale" held at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater on March 14, 2024 in Beverly Hills, California. (Photo by Alberto Rodriguez/Variety via Getty Images)

Life in the limelight

  • Gerber had been a model like his mother and younger sister Kaia, making his runway debut for Italian label Moschino aged just 16.
  • He went on to model for brands including Burberry, Dolce & Gabbana, and Bottega Veneta.
  • Gerber posted a video about undergoing drug withdrawal treatment in the months before his death, though the cause of his death was not disclosed.

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Family asks for privacy

Presley Gerber, Kaia Gerber, Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber at RE/DONE x Kaia Gerber 'Short/Cuts' Launch Event on May 20, 2026 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Gilbert Flores/WWD via Getty Images)
  • Allie Jenkins, a representative for Crawford and her husband Rande Gerber, told : “The family is asking for privacy during this very difficult and painful time.”

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Badenoch pledges to bring back tax-free shopping for tourists

BRIDLINGTON, ENGLAND - MAY 23: Conservative party leader Kemi Badenoch poses for pictures as she visits Bridlington Harbour to meet with members of the fishing community on May 23, 2025 in Bridlington, England. Leader of the Conservative Party, Kemi Badenoch, visits to talk to the fishing community in response to the Prime Minister's new deal with the EU that grants European trawler fleets 12 years of access to UK waters in a rollover of the existing fisheries deal to 2038. The government claims the deal will benefit the British fishing industry by allowing fish caught in UK waters to be sold in the EU without veterinary checks, removing a costly post-Brexit barrier. Starmer has also unveiled a ??360m fund to support fishing communities and modernise the British fishing fleet. (Photo by Ian Forsyth/Getty Images)

Kemi Badenoch has promised to revive a tax-free shopping scheme for tourists by reversing a post-Brexit rule change.

The decision to scrap the VAT refund scheme for international visitors in 2021 left the UK “less competitive” than many other European holiday destinations as the country left the EU, the Tories said.

Business chiefs hail ‘pro-growth’ policy change

Badenoch said the policy was letting down businesses.

Business chiefs, including the bosses of Fortnum & Mason and Paul Smith, hailed the policy change as “pro-growth” and “pro-jobs”.

Shoppers and visitors on Oxford Street carrying shopping bags on 9th June 2024 in London, United Kingdom. Oxford Street is a major retail centre in the West End of the capital and is Europes busiest shopping street with around half a million daily visitors to its approximately 300 shops, the majority of which are fashion and high street clothing stores. (photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)
Shoppers and visitors out on Oxford Street walk down the steps into a very busy Oxford Circus underground station on 4th January 2026 in London, United Kingdom. Oxford Street is a major retail centre in the West End of the capital and is Europes busiest shopping street with around half a million daily visitors to its approximately 300 shops, the majority of which are fashion and high street clothing stores. (photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)

Losing out to ‘rival cities’

We have iconic retailers, inventive designers and brilliant manufacturers, but they are being let down by a tax policy that is chasing their customers away. Holidaymakers are choosing rival cities in other countries for the simple reason that it saves them money.

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A tourist holds an umbrella to protect themselves from the sun during a heatwave near the Eiffel Tower at the Trocadero square, in Paris, on June 30, 2025. French authorities put Paris on red alert for extreme heat and Spain and Portugal reported record temperatures as a heatwave gripped southern Europe and Britain on June 30, 2025, triggering health warnings and fuelling wildfires. (Photo by Ludovic MARIN / AFP) (Photo by LUDOVIC MARIN/AFP via Getty Images)

A closer look at the detail

Retail space under refurbishment which will be opening soon as a new Michael Kors store on Bond Street on 7th April 2024 in London, United Kingdom. Bond Street is one of the principal streets in the West End shopping district and is very upmarket. It has been a fashionable shopping street since the 18th century. The rich and wealthy shop here mostly for high end fashion and jewellery. (photo by Mike Kemp/In Pictures via Getty Images)
  • Spending by visitors remains 8 per cent lower than before the pandemic – despite numbers returning to pre-Covid levels, according to 2024 estimates from tourism agency VisitBritain.

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Treasury: ‘UK visitors can claim VAT’

Almost every European country offers tax-free shopping for tourists, except the UK – although the minimum spend varies.

A Treasury spokesperson said “visitors can still claim VAT relief where the items purchased are shipped directly to their home country as exports” and that it is working to “welcome 50 million international visitors a year to the UK by 2030”.

(L-R) Sue Clark, Anoosheh Ashoori, Joe Bennett, Leila Ashoori, and Richard Ratcliffe, family and supporters of Lindsay and Craig Foreman, a couple detained in Iran without charge pose for a selfie photogragh in Downing Street during a day of action in London on January 3, 2026, to raise national awareness of the couple's ongoing detention and the need for urgent intervention. A British couple, Lindsay and Craig Foreman, both in their early fifties, were seized in January 2025, as they passed through Kerman, in central Iran, while on a round-the-world motorbike trip. Iran accuses the couple of entering the country pretending to be tourists so as to gather information for foreign intelligence services, an allegation the couple's family rejects. (Photo by Brook Mitchell / AFP via Getty Images)

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Charles Spencer, whose new book reveals the abuse he suffered at school (Photo: Max Mumby/Indigo/Getty)

All the latest Earl Spencer revelations as royal row continues

A war of words has broken out after Earl Spencer made a series of damning claims about the King in a new memoir about his sister, Diana, Princess of Wales.

Swan Song: Diana, My Sister is due to be published on Tuesday. Here are some key claims made in excerpts from the book released so far.

‘We’ll forget her soon enough’

Spencer claims he and Charles argued over arrangements for his sister’s funeral in 1997 and the King told him: “Rest assured, we’ll forget her soon enough”.

Prince Harry, and Meghan, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, arrive for an event, during a visit to Bondi Beach, Australia, April 17, 2026. (Jonathan Brady/Pool Photo via AP, File)
British Royal Diana, Princess of Wales (1961-1997), wearing a blue-and-white Catherine Walker suit and matching hat, attends the service marking the 50th anniversary of World War II's Battle of the Atlantic, held at Liverpool Anglican Cathedral, in Liverpool, England, 30th May 1993. (Photo by Tim Graham Photo Library via Getty Images)

Spencer has also said he believes the relationship between the press and the Duke and Duchess of Sussex “echoes” the way the media treated his sister.

Other key claims made

  • Spencer has written of how Charles’s phone call following the car crash in 1997 “sounded strangely matter-of-fact”.
  • “[Charles] sounded giddily elated – like a lottery winner, I remember thinking at the time,” Spencer writes.
  • In another extract, Spencer told of his memories of the funeral, and his concern for Harry, after he observed a “lack of obvious care”.

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While we do not comment on books as a matter of principle, His Majesty is mindful that the pain of fraternal grief can cloud reason, affect judgment and colour memory in ways others do not recognise, even many years after such a loss.

Buckingham Palace spokesman
Britain's King Charles III stands for the national anthem during the opening ceremony of the 23rd Commonwealth Games at the OVO Arena in Glasgow, Scotland, on July 23, 2026. (Photo by Oli SCARFF / AFP via Getty Images)

King accused of gaslighting

Spencer has accused the King of gaslighting him and called his response a “rather poor imitation of the ‘recollections may vary’ quote” – the late Queen’s response to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s allegations in their Oprah Winfrey interview, The Mail on Sunday reports.

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Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said in a social media post that engineers had “fixed the problem and systems are resuming”, but warned some delays may continue during the reset.

A Nats spokesperson said: “This was a connectivity issue with part of our systems network, specific to the operation in Scotland. It is nothing to do with the problem we had earlier this month.”

A software fault at Nats on September 8 caused more than 2,000 flights to be cancelled.

Which airports are affected?

Delays have been reported at Glasgow, Edinburgh, Manchester, Dundee, Benbecula and Belfast airports.

A Nats spokesperson said: “Airports south of Manchester are broadly unaffected, however, flights heading north and flights departing Scottish airports are currently subject to some delay.”

However, London City airport posted on its social media page: “We are experiencing some disruption due to an issue at @NATS Prestwick. We are monitoring the situation closely and working with Nats they resolve the issue.”

Nats has apologised for the issue and said passengers should still check the status of their flight with their airline.

A British Airways spokesperson said they are “doing everything we can to limit the impact on customers and are keeping them updated”.

A spokesperson for EasyJet said any customers flying today should “check our flight tracker for the latest information”.

Airlines have previously called for the resignation of Nats chief executive Martin Rolfe after the flight chaos earlier this month.

Jet2 chief executive Steve Heapy said today it was “simply not good enough for this critical national infrastructure to keep letting customers down”.

“Customers work hard to look forward to their holidays and airlines work hard to deliver those holidays. They should not be repeatedly exposed to delays and disruption because the UK’s air traffic control systems cannot be relied upon.”

A spokesperson for EasyJet added the issue “once again, calls into question the resilience of Nats’ systems and demonstrates the need for firm actions to prevent these repeated failures”.

Heapy called for urgent action. “There have been too many incidents, too many reports and too many promises of lessons being learned,” he said.

“What customers and airlines need now is action, accountability and proper resilience, and we need it urgently.”

Nats is the UK’s leading provider of air traffic control services and handles about 2.5 million flights per year.

Last July a “radar-related issue” caused an air traffic control failure which disrupted thousands of passengers and forced the cancellation of more than 160 flights.

In August 2023, more than 700,000 passengers suffered disruption when flights were grounded at UK airports when Nats experienced a technical glitch while processing a flight plan.

Original source Flights delayed across UK by new air traffic control failure

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