Nearly 300 flights cancelled as air traffic control issue hits major UK airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, Stansted

Some departing flights from airports across Britain were disrupted on Tuesday after air traffic control provider NATS hit a technical issue, Heathrow Airport said, adding that arriving flights were not affected for now.

"The air traffic control service NATS is experiencing a technical issue which is impacting departing flights at UK airports," Heathrow said in a statement. "Arriving flights are not currently impacted."

Nearly 300 flights had been cancelled by Tuesday evening because of the fault in the UK air traffic control system, flight tracking service Flightradar24 said.


The disruption widened through the day, with Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted airports also reporting they were affected by the air traffic control technical issue, in addition to Heathrow.

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The airport said it was supporting the local NATS team in efforts to resolve the problem as quickly as possible and would share updates as they came in.

"We apologise to those disrupted and advise passengers to check with their airline for latest flight information," it added.

NATS handles air traffic across UK airspace and at several of the country's major airports.

Further details awaited.