Dublin Airport warns of delays as UK air‑traffic control fault triggers widespread disruption
Dublin Airport passengers are being warned of delays after a major UK air‑traffic control fault caused widespread disruption at airports including Heathrow, grounding flights and triggering hundreds of cancellations.
Departures are facing lengthy delays this afternoon after the UK air‑traffic control issue left planes unable to take off safely.
Around 200 flights were cancelled, a number expected to rise, according to flight‑monitoring site Flightradar24.
A Dublin Airport spokesperson said that, due to the UK air‑traffic control problems, “some flights in and out of Dublin Airport are subject to delays this afternoon”.
“Passengers scheduled to fly this evening are advised to get in touch with their airline directly for latest updates on their flight,” they said.
Ryanair and Aer Lingus flights travelling to Dublin from London Heathrow, London Stansted, London Gatwick, Liverpool and Bristol have been delayed and cancelled.
Meanwhile, flights travelling from Dublin to London Gatwick, London Heathrow and London Luton have also been delayed and cancelled.
Ryanair has said: “Affected passengers will be notified and any passengers travelling to/from the UK on Tue 08 Sep should check the Ryanair app for the latest updates on their flight.”
Flights into Belfast are also facing major delays, with a British Airways service from Heathrow pushed from 3.30pm to 7pm and a London City flight delayed from 1.55pm to 8.45pm, among other disruption.
The UK national air traffic control service (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 nats.aero.”
Heathrow Airport posted on its X account: “The air traffic control service 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.”
Belfast City Airport warned of “some disruption” to flights following the technical issue effecting air traffic controller, Nats.
“Due to the technical issue referenced below, there may be some disruption to flights due to arrive in and depart from Belfast City Airport,” they said in a statement.
In a statement posted on X, Manchester Airport said the Nats issue may cause delays to some departing flights.
The statement said: “We are aware of an issue affecting Nats’ air traffic control service at UK airports, which may result in delays to some departing flights from Manchester Airport today.
“Passengers due to travel are advised to check the latest status of their flight with their airline.
“We will continue to monitor the situation and share further updates as more information becomes available.”
Manchester Airport Group, the company that operates Manchester Airport, Stansted Airport in Essex and East Midlands Airport in Leicestershire, said flights from all three had been affected by the air traffic control issue.
The Nats issue is causing disruption to flights at London Stansted.
A spokesperson for London Stansted said: “We are aware of an issue affecting Nats’ air traffic control service, which is causing disruption to flights at London Stansted and across the UK.
“Passengers due to travel should check the status of their flight directly with their airline.
“We’ll continue to monitor the situation and provide updates as more information becomes available.”
Edinburgh Airport said it was aware the technical issue affecting air traffic control service Nats “may impact operations”.
A post on X said: “We are aware of a technical issue affecting @NATS which may impact operations. We are working closely with air traffic control, airlines and other partners, and hope @NATS can resolve the issue as quickly as possible.”
Birmingham Airport said the air traffic technical issue is affecting airspace in the south of the UK.
A Birmingham Airport spokesperson said: “There is currently an air traffic technical issue affecting airspace in the south of the UK, which is impacting a significant number of departing flights across the country.
“We apologise to customers whose journeys have been impacted.
“Passengers are advised to arrive at Birmingham Airport (BHX) in line with their airline’s check-in requirements and to contact their airline directly for the latest flight information and updates.”