SIA passenger recounts 20-hour delay after air traffic control glitch at major British airports

On September 8, Singapore Airlines (SIA) encountered technical issues with its flight data processing system at major British airports, causing disruptions to several flights. Two flights were cancelled and two were diverted.

Flights SQ308 and SQ318, bound for London Heathrow from Singapore, were diverted to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in France and Munich Airport in Germany, respectively. The diverted SIA aircraft accommodated 401 passengers and 29 crew members on SQ308, while 203 passengers and 19 crew members were on SQ318. Departure times were 6:30pm local time (12:30am Singapore time) for Paris and 8:09pm (2:09am Singapore time) for Munich.

As a result of the diversions, return flights SQ319 and SQ321, scheduled to depart London Heathrow for Singapore on the same day, were cancelled. SIA later rerouted passengers to Munich for SQ318 and Paris for SQ308, with passengers transferred to their final destinations via land.

The air traffic control glitch at British airports led to over 150 flight cancellations on September 9, adding to the 1,300 cancellations on September 8. Britain's National Air Traffic Services (NATS) reported thousands of flight disruptions nationwide due to the technical issue impacting its flight data processing system.

SIA provided assistance to affected passengers, including hotel accommodations and ground transport, and rebooked connecting flights. The airline apologized for the inconvenience caused, emphasizing the safety of passengers and crew as their top priority. The technical glitch follows a similar incident in July 2025, which resulted in numerous flight cancellations, prompting anger from airline executives.