A technical fault affecting the UK’s air traffic control infrastructure has resulted in significant disruption to aviation services across the country, with thousands of travellers experiencing cancellations and delays.
Multiple major UK airports have been impacted by the malfunction, including Heathrow, Manchester and Edinburgh.
The incident has caused widespread departures to be grounded while efforts continue to restore normal operations.
NATS, the organisation responsible for managing UK airspace, acknowledged the problem and indicated that technicians were actively working to address the fault.
According to the company, the technical issue was responsible for disruptions to flight departures at numerous aerodromes.
The airports experiencing delays and cancellations include London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Stansted, Manchester, Birmingham, Belfast City, Edinburgh, Aberdeen, Glasgow, Southampton, East Midlands and Jersey.
Flight tracking service Flightradar24 reported that approximately 200 services had been cancelled by Tuesday afternoon, with projections suggesting the total could increase further as the situation develops.
Heathrow acknowledged the impact on passengers and confirmed that only outbound journeys were being held up, with aircraft still able to land at the west London hub.
A spokesperson for the airport outlined that the Nats system was encountering a technical fault that was preventing departures from proceeding as scheduled, while arrivals continued without interruption.
The airport indicated that assistance was being provided to the local Nats personnel working to restore full functionality, with further updates promised when available.
Travellers have been directed to consult their respective carriers for current journey information.
An apology was extended to those whose plans had been disrupted.
Industry sources indicated that a solution to the fault had reportedly been implemented.