A warning has been issued to passengers travelling through Edinburgh Airport.
15:51, 08 Sep 2026Updated 22:52, 08 Sep 2026
Edinburgh Airport(Image: Sunday Mail)
Flights departing from Scottish airports are facing disruption amid an air traffic control issue which is affecting UK flights – with dozens of routes cancelled this evening.
A fix to the issue affecting UK airspace, including Edinburgh and Glasgow, has now been implemented by NATS. However, Edinburgh Airport warned that some knock-on disruption is likely to continue throughout the day as operations recover across the UK. Passengers have been urged to continue checking with their airline for the latest information.
The problem began at around 1.46pm, with NATS engineers called in to deal with a fault in its flight processing system. Glasgow, Edinburgh and Aberdeen airports were among those affected, with passengers reporting lengthy waits and uncertainty over whether their flights would actually depart.
One passenger at Glasgow Airport said they had been sitting on the tarmac since 3.30pm on a Jet2 flight bound for Kos. Posting online, Mitch Cambridge said: “Been sat on the tarmac since 3.30pm on a flight bound for Kos at Glasgow. Jet2 staff amazing but we wanna know if we are going or not, it seems unlikely.”
Another passenger, David Aitchison, said he had been sitting on a runway at Edinburgh Airport for more than an hour and a half. He posted: “Sat on a runway for over an hour and a half. Get us moving man.”
A passenger at Stansted said they had been waiting for their Edinburgh flight since 12.50pm and had been told the delay could be another 30 minutes to an hour. Meanwhile, Jonny Ashton questioned easyJet over the status of an 18.05pm Berlin to Edinburgh service after it disappeared from the airport departure boards while still showing as delayed on the airline’s website.
A flight from Stansted to Edinburgh has been at standstill(Image: Nick Groves)
Another traveller said two colleagues on an easyJet 1.30pm Edinburgh to Gatwick flight had been returned to the airport after spending hours on the tarmac, with staff suggesting they might not depart until 10pm.
Glasgow Airport warned earlier that the technical issue affecting NATS air traffic control services was causing disruption to some flight departures. It advised passengers to check with their airline for the latest flight information before travelling.
NATS said it had identified the problem in its flight processing system and that engineers were working to restore normal operations. It later confirmed that a fix had been implemented, with flights continuing to depart as the system recovered.
The disruption was not limited to Scotland, with airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted also affected. Hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled across the UK, with the disruption causing knock-on effects for passengers and airlines.
Passengers at Scottish airports are being urged to check directly with their airline before travelling and to expect further disruption while flight schedules return to normal.
Air traffic is expected to return to normal by 9pm UK time, according to Flightradar24, citing Eurocontrol, the organisation which coordinates air traffic across Europe. Flights are still taking off despite the disruption, although some are facing significant delays.
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