{
  "id": 6376073,
  "title": "UK airports face more disruption after air traffic control glitch",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/uk-airports-face-more-disruption-after-air-traffic-control-glitch",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-09-09T02:42:49.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/world/2026/09/09/uk-airports-face-more-disruption-after-air-traffic-control-glitch"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "UK airports faced more travel disruptions on Wednesday after a technical glitch at air traffic control services caused chaos across the country. More than 150 flights were cancelled, bringing the total to over 300 cancellations across the nation on Tuesday. The majority of the affected flights were at London's Heathrow Airport, Britain's busiest airport, according to aircraft tracking website FlightRadar24.\n\nNATS, the National Air Traffic Services, was working to resolve the disruption following a system issue. They acknowledged it was a complex recovery process with uncertainties, stating that it would take time for the entire aviation network to recover. Heathrow confirmed that departures resumed, but warned that further disruption was expected and advised passengers to check with their airlines before travelling.\n\nNATS had claimed to have resolved the glitch, but the organization faced criticism for its handling of the situation. British Airways cancelled over 100 flights, impacting tens of thousands of passengers, while Ryanair reported disruptions for more than 65,000 passengers, cancelling more than 50 flights. The incident echoed a similar technical glitch in July of the previous year, causing widespread cancellations and anger among airline executives. British transport secretary Heidi Alexander called for lessons to be learned and systems to be improved, while Ryanair's COO Neal McMahon demanded the resignation of NATS CEO Martin Rolfe.",
  "summary": "177 flights scheduled for Wednesday have already been axed, following 1,300 cancellations to and from UK airports on Tuesday.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 4,
    "also_reported_by": [
      {
        "outlet": "Free Malaysia Today",
        "title": "Nearly 1,100 flights cancelled after UK air traffic control glitch",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/08/nearly-1-100-flights-cancelled-after-uk-air-traffic-control-glitch",
        "published": "2026-09-08T23:39:24.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "Malay Mail",
        "title": "Nearly 1,100 UK flights cancelled after air traffic control glitch triggers nationwide disruption",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/nearly-1-100-uk-flights-cancelled-after-air-traffic-control-glitch",
        "published": "2026-09-09T01:19:45.000Z"
      },
      {
        "outlet": "MyJoyOnline Ghana",
        "title": "More UK flight delays expected after hundreds cancelled by air traffic control glitch",
        "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/09/09/more-uk-flight-delays-expected-after-hundreds-cancelled-by-air",
        "published": "2026-09-09T03:56:00.000Z"
      }
    ]
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}