According to official statements from the UK’s National Air Traffic Services (NATS) and mainstream media reports, the incident was a technical failure, not a cyberattack, and not “all flights” were grounded.
🔍 Key Facts
· Cyberattack ruled out: Martin Rolfe, head of NATS, explicitly stated that the agency had “ruled out cyber” activity as the cause and did not believe it was a cyberattack.
· Nature of the incident: The disruption was caused by a technical issue in the flight processing system, not an external attack.
· Actual scope of impact: During the incident, airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, and Birmingham suffered widespread delays and cancellations, but did not experience a complete nationwide grounding. Data showed approximately 1,746 flights were cancelled on Tuesday and another 399 on Wednesday.
📉 Specific Impact Data
· Affected passengers: Over two days, more than 330,000 passengers were impacted, including 155,000 cancellations and approximately 180,000 delays.
· Airline response: British Airways alone cancelled nearly 550 flights, affecting 85,000 customers.
This incident was the result of a technical failure, and NATS is conducting a comprehensive investigation, with the UK Department for Transport also ordering an independent review.