Heathrow and Gatwick LIVE: Flights grounded as air traffic control tech failure sparks chaos at airportsLatest updates as delays and cancellations hit London’s two busiest airports Heathrow airport has lost its position as Europe’s busiest airport to Istanbul, new figures show (Stefan Rousseau/PA)PA WireMegan Howe, News Reporter|Matt Watts, News Editor|Tom Place, News Reporter8 minutes ago
Passengers at Gatwick and Heathrow are facing major delays and flight cancellations after a technical failure with air traffic control.
Fights are reportedly grounded at London’s two busiest airports with passengers left stranded.
Other UK airports are also affected. Birmingham Airport said the issue is “affecting airspace in the south of the UK, which is impacting a significant number of departing flights across the country.”
Disruption is expected to last until at least 7pm this evening.
A NATS spokesperson said in a statement on social media: “We are investigating a technical issue which is causing some disruption to flight departures.
“Our engineers are on site and we will provide an update as soon as we can.
“We apologise for the delay this will cause to journeys, passengers should check with their airline on the status of their flight.”
Follow the latest updates below…
Live updates
‘Technical issue’ at air traffic control being investigated
National Air Traffic Services (Nats), the main air traffic control provider in the UK confirmed the issue this afternoon.
Nats said in a statement: “We are investigating a technical issue which is causing some disruption to flight departures.
“Our engineers are on site and we will provide an update as soon as we can.
“We apologise for the delay this will cause to journeys, passengers should check with their airline on the status of their flight.
“We will provide updates on www.nats.aero and on X – @NATS.”
‘Arriving flights are NOT affected,’ says Heathrow
Heathrow Airport said arriving flights are not affected by the ongoing technical issue at air traffic control.
Departing flights from the London airport are currently facing disruption.
A statement said: “The air traffic control service @NATS is experiencing a technical issue which is impacting departing flights at UK airports.
“Arriving flights are not currently impacted.
“We are supporting our local Nats team in their efforts to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. We will provide updated information when we have it.
“We apologise to those disrupted and advise passengers to check with their airline for latest flight information.”
Flights grounded at Heathrow and Gatwick airports due to technical failure in air traffic control
Passengers travelling from Heathrow and Gatwick Airport face severe disruption this afternoon due to a technical and data processing failure affecting air traffic control.
Outgoing flights have been temporarily paused or heavily grounded, with aircraft idling on taxiways and long queues building up at terminals.
Inbound flights are largely landing, though some incoming flights from Europe have experienced holding patterns or ground stops via Eurocontrol regulations.
Airspace restrictions and knock-on delays are expected to persist through the late afternoon and evening.
If you’re planning to travel this afternoon, please check the status of your flight and allow extra time when heading to the airport.
More details to follow.
Passengers travelling from Heathrow and Gatwick Airport face severe disruption this afternoon PA Archive
Tube and Overground update
There is now a good service on the vast majority of the Tube and Overground.
There are only minor delays on both the Central and Circle lines due to train cancellations.
Faulty train causes Metropolitan line delays
The Metropolitan line is dealing with severe delays between Harrow-on-the-Hill and Aldgate, and minor delays between Harrow-on-the-Hill and Uxbridge, due to an earlier faulty train at Finchley Road.
Tickets are being accepted on London Buses.
There is a good service on the rest of the line.
District line update
There are currently severe delays on the District line between Earl’s Court and Wimbledon, Richmond, and Ealing Broadway due to an earlier faulty train at Embankment.
Tickets are being accepted on London Buses, Mildmay line, Elizabeth line and South Western Railway services.
There is a good service on the rest of the line.
DLR delays
There are minor delays on the DLR due to an earlier signalling system failure.
Hammersmith and City line delays
The Hammersmith and City line is experiencing minor delays eastbound only due to train cancellations.
There is a good service on the westbound line.
Delays on London trams
There are minor delays on the London Tramlink between East Croydon and Sundowns due to an earlier broken down road vehicle at Lebanon Road.
There is a good service on other tram routes.
Northern line update
There are severe delays on the Northern Line between Camden Town and Edgware due to a fire alert at Hendon Central.
There is a good service on the rest of the line.
Latest updatesOlder updates
MORE ABOUT