LONDON : Flights from airports across Britain resumed on Wednesday after a major air traffic control system failure caused widespread disruption, cancelling more than 1,000 flights and leaving hundreds of thousands of passengers stranded.

While operations have restarted, major airports warned that it could take time for schedules to return to normal as airlines work through the backlog created by Tuesday’s hours-long outage. Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton and Stansted were among airports advising passengers to continue checking with their airlines before travelling.

The disruption has intensified scrutiny of Britain’s air navigation service provider, NATS, and its chief executive, Martin Rolfe.

Transport Minister Heidi Alexander summoned Rolfe to explain the failure and was due to meet him on Wednesday amid renewed concerns over the resilience of Britain’s air traffic control infrastructure and technology.

Flight-tracking data showed around 1,300 flights to and from UK airports were cancelled on Tuesday, while hundreds more were delayed. Further cancellations continued into Wednesday as airlines attempted to restore normal operations.

The latest breakdown comes three years after a major NATS system failure in August 2023 caused widespread cancellations on one of the busiest travel days of the year, costing airlines around £100 million ($135 million).

Britain’s aviation network was also hit by another technical problem in July 2025, when a radar-related issue disrupted operations at several major airports, including London Heathrow.

Rolfe apologised to passengers affected by the latest disruption and said a cyberattack had been ruled out.

“I would say that Britain has one of the best reputations in the world for its air traffic control service, both in terms of safety and resilience,” Rolfe told the BBC, adding that he accepted responsibility for the incident and that safety remained his primary concern.

NATS said the technical problem had affected its flight data processing system and confirmed that safety had not been compromised. The company said the fault had been resolved, although it acknowledged that the recovery had been complex and would take time to clear across the aviation network.

Ryanair and Wizz Air called for reforms at NATS, with Ryanair renewing calls for Rolfe to step down following repeated disruptions in recent years.

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