Air traffic control issue causes flight delays and disruption across UK

Departures from London airports worst hit with most flights since 2pm affected as National Air Traffic Services investigates technical problem

Flights around the UK are facing delays and disruption due to an air traffic control issue which has affected a string of airports including Heathrow and Gatwick.

Departures from London airports are most severely affected, with few take-offs since a fault was reported early on Tuesday afternoon.

The air traffic control service Nats said at 1.46pm that it was “investigating a technical issue which is causing some disruption to flight departures”.

Nats added: “Our engineers are on site and we will provide an update as soon as we can. We apologise for the delay this will cause to journeys, passengers should check with their airline on the status of their flight.”

The UK’s biggest airport, Heathrow, said planes were continuing to arrive, although Eurocontrol said some inbound flights were being held at airports abroad, with disruption likely to continue until the evening.

In a statement, Heathrow added: “We are supporting our local Nats team in their efforts to resolve the issue as quickly as possible. We will provide updated information when we have it.

“We apologise to those disrupted and advise passengers to check with their airline for latest flight information.”

Most flights due to depart Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and London City airports since 2pm appeared to have been delayed or are yet to take off.