A technical fault in the United Kingdom’s air traffic control system triggered widespread disruption on Tuesday, forcing temporary restrictions on departures and leading to large-scale cancellations.
Major airports including London Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted, along with Manchester and several airports in Scotland, were affected. While arriving flights continued to operate, outbound services were halted for a period as engineers worked to resolve the issue.
Authorities said more than 625 flights had been cancelled so far. Several passengers reported being stuck on aircraft for hours before learning their flights would not operate, causing significant delays and missed schedules.
The UK air traffic control body said it had identified the technical problem and deployed teams on site to restore normal operations as quickly as possible, apologising for the continuing disruption.
Separately, an Air India flight travelling from Mumbai to London was diverted and landed at Zurich airport in Switzerland, adding to passenger inconvenience.
