Breaking · Flights & Access

Britain's Flight Control System Just Failed Twice in 13 Days, Here's What That Actually Means If You're Flying This Autumn

A Prestwick network fault cut UK airspace capacity 60% on 21 September, thirteen days after a software defect grounded 2,000+ flights nationwide.

By Laxman Rawal · Sep 22, 2026

NATS , the company that runs UK air traffic control, suffered its second major system failure in thirteen days on 21 September 2026, when a network fault at its Prestwick centre cut UK airspace capacity by 60 percent and disrupted more than 25,000 Ryanair…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

What actually broke at NATS on 8 and 21 September

Two separate, unrelated faults hit Britain's single air navigation provider in less than a fortnight. On 8 September, NATS says a manual request for an aircraft identification "squawk" code overlapped with a higher-priority system process for approximately…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

Why this keeps happening, and what regulators had just signed off

This is the third national-level NATS failure since 2023, and the timing is the part worth knowing. The UK's Civil Aviation Authority ran an independent review into the August 2023 NATS failure — the one that stranded around 700,000 passengers over a bank…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

Are you owed compensation for either failure

No, not the fixed cash payout most flyers expect. The UK Civil Aviation Authority explicitly lists air traffic control disruption alongside severe weather and security incidents as an "extraordinary circumstance" under UK261 — the rule that normally forces an…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

What this means if you're connecting through the UK to Nepal this autumn

What this means for you Most Everest and Annapurna trekkers flying from the US, Canada or continental Europe route through a UK or Gulf hub before Kathmandu. A NATS-triggered delay in London or Manchester will not cost you compensation, but it can cost you…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

Frequently asked questions

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

Is NATS likely to fail again this autumn

Nobody can promise it won't. Two unrelated systems failed in thirteen days after a full slate of post-2023 fixes was signed off, which is why the government has ordered a fresh independent review rather than accepting NATS's own preliminary report as the last…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

Does travel insurance cover a NATS-caused delay

Most standard travel insurance policies cover reasonable extra expenses for a significant delay regardless of cause, which is separate from UK261 and not affected by the "extraordinary circumstances" classification — check your own policy's delay-trigger…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News

Which UK airports were affected

8 September hit Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Luton and Bristol nationwide. 21 September was concentrated on Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England — Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast International and Manchester — with airports…

Travel Himalaya Nepal · News