Passengers at Gatwick Airport are facing another day of disruption today, Wednesday 9 September, as the UK aviation industry struggles to recover from a major technical failure in the national air traffic control system.
The fault, which occurred within the NATS flight processing system on Tuesday afternoon, led to hundreds of flights being cancelled or delayed across the country. As the primary international hub for Chichester and West Sussex residents, Gatwick was among the worst-hit locations, recording more than 250 flight delays—representing approximately 31 per cent of its total daily schedule.
NATS confirmed that a fix was implemented by 16:45 on Tuesday, with a further resolution update provided at 19:30. However, the knock-on effects of aircraft and crews being out of position mean that flight schedules remain unstable today.
Impact on Gatwick and National Airspace
The technical glitch began at 13:46 on Tuesday, forcing NATS to implement flow restrictions to maintain safety while the system was unable to process flight plans automatically. While UK airspace remained open throughout the crisis, the reduced capacity led to a backlog that quickly escalated.
By 5pm on Tuesday, more than 400 flights to and from UK airports had been cancelled. Major carriers including British Airways, which saw more than 100 flights cancelled or diverted, and EasyJet have been working to clear the backlog. Ryanair reported that more than 65,000 of its passengers were affected by the nationwide disruption.
The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has already requested a full report from NATS regarding the resilience of its systems and how the failure was allowed to occur.
Advice for West Sussex Travellers
For those travelling from the Chichester area today, the official advice remains to check the status of your flight with your airline before beginning your journey to the airport. Passengers should not travel to Gatwick if their flight has already been confirmed as cancelled.
Airlines including Loganair and Ryanair have advised passengers on cancelled services to manage their bookings via official websites or apps rather than waiting at terminal desks.
Under UK aviation law, airlines retain a “duty of care” to passengers even when the cause of the delay is outside their direct control. This includes:
- The provision of food and drink after a certain period of delay.
- Overnight accommodation and transport to it if a flight is delayed until the following day.
- The option of a refund or being rebooked on the next available flight to the destination.
However, because the NATS system failure is classified as an “extraordinary circumstance,” passengers are unlikely to be eligible for additional financial compensation for the delay itself. Travellers are encouraged to keep receipts for any necessary expenses incurred during the disruption to support future insurance or airline claims.
Industry experts suggest it could take several days for operations at Gatwick and other major hubs to return to complete normality as airlines work to reposition their fleets across Europe.