Widespread flight delays hit major British airports

LONDON — Flights departing from at least two major British airports have been grounded following a “technical issue,” officials said Tuesday.

London’s Heathrow Airport said in a statement Tuesday that it was working with Britain’s National Air Traffic Service (NATS) to resolve the issue, advising passengers to check with their airlines for more information regarding their flights.

London Gatwick Airport also said on X that it had been affected, and further north, Manchester Airport also took to social media to warn the issue “may result in delays.” Edinburgh Airport in Scotland issued a similar warning.

“We are investigating a technical issue which is causing some disruption to flight departures,” NATS said in a separate statement, adding that engineers were on site and would provide an update when they could.

“Arriving flights are not currently impacted,” Heathrow said, although it advised passengers to check flight times.

With 84.5 million passengers last year, Heathrow ranked seventh in the table of the world’s busiest airports, according to data published by Airports Council International.

Travel from Heathrow was severely disrupted in March 2025 when a massive fire at an electricity substation caused a pre-dawn power outage at the global transport hub.

The closure affected more than 1,300 flights and 200,000 passengers.

After investigating 600 items of evidence related to the substation, the National Energy System Operator ruled out suspicious activity in a report saying a preventable moisture fault caused the fire, leaving almost 70,000 homes without power.