Why Did UK Airports Ground Flights?
UK airports face mass flight groundings after radar failure at NATS control centre, triggering major delays and safety restrictions.
- Publish date: Wednesday، 30 July 2025 Reading time: two min read
A significant technical glitch at the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) control centre in Swanwick, Hampshire, on Wednesday, July 30, caused the temporary closure of UK airspace, grounding flights across multiple major airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Stansted and London City.
What Happened?
Around 2:39 p.m. GMT, NATS experienced a radar-related failure that led to a precautionary restriction on aircraft movements in the London Control Area, covering most of England and Wales. Although the disruption lasted only about 20 minutes, the clearance delay triggered the grounding of all outbound flights and forced some inbound planes to hold or divert.
Grounding and Resumption
After the system was restored by around 4:30 pm, operations resumed gradually. However, thousands of passengers remained affected, with airport staff managing extensive cancellations, delays, and flight diversions. Heathrow, the busiest UK airport, saw flights resume within the hour but airlines warned disruption could last several more hours.
Airline and Government Response
British Airways reported operating at just two-thirds of its usual flight capacity at Heathrow until around 7:15 pm, after which it expected to return to normal operations.
The UK Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, confirmed the technical issue was resolved but cautioned that travel disruption could continue, advising travelers to check with their airlines for updates.
Passenger Impact
Travel analytics firm Cirium estimated that at least 45 departures and 35 arrivals were canceled nationwide, and flights were either delayed or diverted to alternative airports. Some long-haul journeys were rerouted mid-air, and passengers reported being held on the tarmac for extended periods without clear updates.
Calls for Accountability
Ryanair demanded the resignation of NATS CEO Martin Rolfe, calling the incident “outrageous” and highlighting a failure to learn lessons from a similar outage in 2023 that affected around 700,000 travelers.
Meanwhile, the Liberal Democrats, led by Sir Ed Davey, called for an independent investigation to assess the resilience and reliability of UK air traffic control systems.
This incident serves as a stark reminder of how dependent modern aviation is on digital infrastructure, and raises urgent questions about the reliability of NATS systems—especially given past failures during peak travel periods.
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