Several major UK airports are experiencing flight delays today, 8 September 2026, following a technical failure within the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) flight processing system. NATS has identified the issue and stated that engineers are working urgently to resume normal operations.
In a statement on X, NATS apologised for the ongoing disruption, noting that while flights are still departing and airspace remains open, recovery will take some time. Heathrow Airport confirmed that the technical issue is impacting departing flights at UK airports, though arriving flights were not initially impacted, some passengers reported knock-on disruption upon arrival.
Eurocontrol, the organisation coordinating European air traffic, has warned that disruption to airspace over London, southern England, and Wales could persist until 9pm on Tuesday. Airports including London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, and Jersey have reported disruption.