Fresh UK air-traffic control outage grounds more than 200 flights

Travellers flying in and out of the United Kingdom faced another day of disruption on 22 September after National Air Traffic Services (NATS) imposed traffic-flow restrictions following a technical failure at its Prestwick control centre in Scotland. The glitch – the second in less than a fortnight – forced airlines to cancel or delay at least 200 services across Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England in the early hours of Tuesday, according to data firm Cirium. NATS said the fault, which emerged late on 21 September, had been fixed by 06:00 BST but warned that knock-on effects would continue for much of the day as airports worked through backlogs. EasyJet scrapped 47 flights, while British Airways and Jet2 also cancelled a number of rotations from Glasgow, Edinburgh and Belfast. Passengers reported being stuck on aircraft for hours or queuing outside terminals as airlines scrambled to re-book or reroute customers. The Civil Aviation Authority reminded carriers that delays caused by air-traffic control problems are outside their control, meaning EU261 cash compensation does not apply, but travellers are still entitled to duty-of-care assistance such as meals and hotel accommodation. Business-travel managers were urged to activate contingency plans, monitor flights proactively and ensure travellers use airline apps for real-time rebooking options. The incident has intensified industry pressure on NATS after a 4 September software defect at its Swanwick centre triggered the worst outage in two decades, leading to 2,000 cancellations and an estimated £140 million bill for airlines. Trade group Airlines UK called for an independent review and quicker reimbursement mechanisms, arguing that repeated failures threaten the UK’s reputation as a reliable business-travel hub. For global-mobility teams, the back-to-back outages highlight the importance of multi-modal contingency planning, flexible ticketing policies and traveller-tracking tools that can respond to sudden, large-scale airspace restrictions. Organisations with time-critical assignees are advised to keep alternative rail or road options on file for domestic positioning and to review travel-insurance cover for consequential losses linked to ATC disruption.