Video message from NATS operations director after the air traffic control problem that hit UK flights is 'identified and remedied'

A major computer issue with the UK air traffic control systems could cause major delays on flights to and from Spain, airline travel trade sources have warned.

Britain's National Air Traffic Services (NATS) said it was experiencing "technical issues" and has "applied traffic flow restrictions to maintain safety". "Engineers are working to find and the fix the fault. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause."

Social media user @emmetlyonsCBS posted the following image of an update received from British airline easyJet:

Scottish airline, Loganair, was the first airline to alert people to the issue and warned its passengers that there had been a network-wide failure of UK air traffic control computer systems, and that some flights may face delays.

Spain's air traffic control operator Enaire, has warned on social media, "Due to the failure of the flight data processing system in United Kingdom, some flights in Spanish airspace are being affected." The company has advised air passengers to contact their airlines for further information.

Statement at 19:30 UK time

A message from NATS Operations Director Juliet Kennedy about today’s disruption.

Statement at 15:15 UK time

We have identified and remedied the technical issue affecting our flight planning system this morning. We are now working closely with airlines and airports to manage the flights affected as efficiently as possible. Our engineers will be carefully monitoring the system’s performance as we return to normal operations.

The flight planning issue affected the system’s ability to automatically process flight plans, meaning that flight plans had to be processed manually which cannot be done at the same volume, hence the requirement for traffic flow restrictions. Our priority is always to ensure that every flight in the UK remains safe and we are sincerely sorry for the disruption this is causing. Please contact your airline for information on how this may affect your flight.

Statement at 14:20 UK time

This morning’s technical issue is affecting our ability to automatically process flight plans. Until our engineers have resolved this, flight plans are being input manually which means we cannot process them at the same volume, hence we have applied traffic flow restrictions. Our technical experts are looking at all possible solutions to rectify this as quickly as possible.

Our priority is ensuring every flight in the UK remains safe and doing everything we can to minimise the impact. Please contact your airline for information on how this may affect your flight. We are sincerely sorry for the disruption this is causing.

Statement at 12:40 UK time

We are continuing to work hard to resolve the technical issue. To clarify, UK airspace is not closed, we have had to apply air traffic flow restrictions which ensures we can maintain safety.

Statement at 12:10 UK time

We are currently experiencing a technical issue and have applied traffic flow restrictions to maintain safety.

Engineers are working to find and fix the fault.

We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.

Please check with your airline on the status of your flight. We will provide updates on www.nats.aero for the latest news and on X – @NATS.