On August 28, 2023, the UK's National Air Traffic Services (NATS) experienced a technical issue that affected its ability to automatically process flight plans. As a result, flight plans had to be input manually, causing significant delays and disruptions for passengers flying in and out of the UK. According to NATS, the issue affected the organization's ability to automate some of its processes. The company's technical experts worked to find a solution as quickly as possible, but until the issue was resolved, traffic flow restrictions were applied and NATS struggled to process flight plans at the same volume.
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The disruption caused by the technical issue was widespread, with arrivals at several UK airports, including London City, Gatwick, Edinburgh, and Belfast International, experiencing major disruptions¹. Departing flights from several more airports faced long delays, while other flights were canceled.
NATS apologized for the disruption and stated that its priority was ensuring the safety of every flight in the UK while minimizing the impact of the issue. Several airlines and airports warned of potential flight disruptions while NATS worked to resolve the problem.
As of 3:15 PM local time (UTC +1), NATS announced that the issue had been fixed and that it was working closely with airlines and airports to manage the affected flights as efficiently as possible. The company's engineers continued to monitor the system's performance as operations returned to normal. This incident highlights the challenges faced by air traffic control systems and the potential impact of technical issues on air travel. It serves as a reminder of the importance of robust and reliable systems for ensuring the smooth operation of air traffic control and minimizing disruptions for passengers.