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Air Traffic Controllers limited the number of aircraft flying into affected airspace. Alamy Stock Photo
technical issue
UK airports trying to get flights in the air again after groundings triggered by ATC problem
The technical glitch affected flights across the UK.
LAST UPDATE | 30 Jul 2025
AIRPORTS ACROSS THE UK are looking to restore operations after flights were disrupted this afternoon due to the National Air Traffic Services (Nats) suffering a technical problem.
Air traffic control provider Nats said its engineers have now “restored the system that was affected” and it is “in the process of resuming normal operations”.
The technical glitch affected flights across the UK and restricted the number of aircraft that could fly in England and Wales, the company said.
British Airways said earlier that the problem was “affecting the vast majority of our flights”, while Birmingham Airport said “departing flights from many UK airports have been suspended”.
ℹ️Technical issue at Swanwick
— NATS (@NATS) July 30, 2025
Our engineers have now restored the system that was affected this afternoon. We are in the process of resuming normal operations in the London area.
(1/2) https://t.co/CI9ZV9Voir pic.twitter.com/g5XgVLgyQ6
Gatwick Airport said: “We are working with NATS to resume flights as quickly as possible.”
It added that passengers should check the status of their flights with their respective airlines.
Nats said the error impacted a centre in Swanwick, near Southhampton in the south of England and that operators would be limiting the number of aircraft flying into the Central London airspace as a result for safety reasons.
With reporting by Press Association.
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