Passengers using London Gatwick have been advised to keep a close eye on their flight plans after a technical fault at the NATS control centre in Prestwick caused disruption across parts of the UK aviation network.
The incident occurred on Monday 21 September, when NATS said a network connectivity problem at its Prestwick centre in Scotland required air-traffic restrictions to be used while engineers investigated. Those restrictions were introduced to manage demand safely, rather than because of a problem at Gatwick itself.
Gatwick said at the time that some disruption was possible. The principal operational effects were reported at airports in Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England, but the episode is still relevant to passengers travelling through the London airport: network disruption can alter aircraft rotations, crew schedules and the availability of replacement seats even where an airport is not at the centre of the fault.
Fault repaired, but delays can outlast the technical problem
NATS later said the issue had been fixed. The organisation described it as separate from the software fault earlier in September that led to far wider disruption. Restoring the underlying system does not necessarily return every flight immediately to its planned schedule, however. Aircraft and crews can be out of position, and airport stands and departure slots may have to be reorganised as traffic restrictions are lifted.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority said the Prestwick issue primarily affected northern parts of the country, while acknowledging that other airports had also reported disruption. It warned that knock-on effects could continue after the technical fault had been resolved. For Gatwick passengers, that means the most useful source of information remains the airline operating the flight, rather than an assumption that a flight is unaffected because its departure airport is in the south-east.
Airlines including British Airways and easyJet indicated that their operations could be affected during the incident. NATS said airports south of Manchester were broadly unaffected, a distinction that is important for travellers using Gatwick. It does not amount to a guarantee that every Gatwick service ran exactly as scheduled, and no broad Gatwick cancellation figure has been confirmed.
What support passengers can expect
The aviation regulator has set out how passenger protections apply when a flight is delayed or cancelled because of the Prestwick fault. It considers disruption directly caused by the incident, and some resulting knock-on disruption, likely to count as extraordinary circumstances under passenger-rights rules.
That assessment means cash compensation is unlikely to be due for delays or cancellations directly caused by the event. It does not remove an airline’s duty of care. The CAA says carriers must look after affected passengers while they are delayed, with meals, refreshments and, where appropriate, hotel accommodation proportionate to the wait.
For a cancelled flight, airlines must offer a choice between a refund, rerouting at the earliest opportunity, or rerouting at a later date that suits the passenger. The practical timing of an alternative service can be difficult during a widespread disruption, particularly when seats are scarce, but the regulator says airlines should keep people informed and explain their rights.
Where an airline cannot proactively provide suitable care or a replacement flight, the CAA expects it to reimburse reasonable costs that passengers incur making their own arrangements. Travellers should keep receipts and avoid excessive expenditure. A passenger whose disruption had another cause, such as an airline-specific operational issue, may have a different position; the incident alone does not settle every individual claim.
Checking the right information before leaving for the airport
For anyone due to travel from Gatwick after a network-wide air-traffic problem, the sensible first step is to check the airline’s own flight-status information before setting out and again shortly before departure. Passengers should allow normal airport processing time unless their carrier gives a different instruction, because arriving unusually early does not in itself improve the chances of rerouting.
The Prestwick episode was the second significant NATS technical event in a short period, increasing scrutiny of the resilience of UK air-traffic services. For Gatwick travellers, the immediate message is more practical: a repaired system is encouraging, but flight-specific information from the carrier remains the reliable guide while the network works back to its planned pattern.
