Rebel Wilson, Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Attwood were among the passengers caught up in a second day of disruption at Britain’s airports after a technical failure at air traffic control provider NATS led to widespread cancellations.
Up to 250,000 travellers have been affected at Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted, with airlines still attempting to recover from the disruption caused by the failure in NATS’s flight data processing system. Flights resumed on Wednesday, September 9, but airports warned that delays and cancellations would continue as aircraft and crew were repositioned. ([apnews.com](https://apnews.com/article/f0f69ef27a90c9d0455ebf54f0998df3?utm_source=openai))
Wilson, 46, appeared to abandon plans to leave London after sharing footage from Heathrow with her followers. Walking through the terminal, the Australian actress filmed crowds gathered around the baggage reclaim area and sarcastically captioned one post: “Heathrow awesomeness.”
She later suggested she was “escaping” the airport, although she did not say how she intended to continue her journey.
Cumberbatch, 50, was photographed arriving at Heathrow with a trolley laden with luggage, apparently hoping to catch his flight. Attwood, 35, was also seen making her way through the airport after appearing at the National Television Awards on Tuesday night.
The television personality wore oversized black sunglasses and a loose grey tracksuit as she pushed her cases through the terminal.
Passengers face fresh cancellations at Heathrow
Heathrow recorded 246 cancellations by 6am on Wednesday, according to FlightRadar24, while 33 services were cancelled at Gatwick. The airport said flights were operating but warned of further disruption as airlines worked to restore their schedules. ([theguardian.com](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/09/uk-flight-cancellations-nats-martin-rolfe-heidi-alexander?utm_source=openai))
Passengers have been told to check directly with their airline before setting off and to travel to the airport only if their flight is confirmed as operating.
The disruption began on Tuesday after NATS, which provides air traffic control services to 15 UK airports, suffered a technical problem. More than 1,300 flights were cancelled, with passengers reporting long waits on aircraft, limited information and overnight stays on terminal floors. ([theguardian.com](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/09/uk-flight-cancellations-nats-martin-rolfe-heidi-alexander?utm_source=openai))
Sky Sports Formula 1 broadcaster Martin Brundle said he had been trapped on a plane at Heathrow for nine hours without food, while the aircraft’s toilets became unusable.
He wrote on social media: “Great work BA and Heathrow. Nine hours and counting sitting on a plane which has travelled nowhere.” He said a mother and baby and a passenger with a medical condition were among those desperate to leave the aircraft.
At Heathrow’s Terminal 4, some passengers slept on yoga mats while waiting for updates. Others described paying for accommodation themselves after flights were cancelled and criticised airlines for failing to provide clear information or practical assistance.
Ryanair said more than 65,000 of its passengers had been disrupted and that it had cancelled more than 50 scheduled flights. British Airways said it had cancelled or diverted more than 100 flights on Tuesday, affecting tens of thousands of customers.
Pressure mounts on NATS chief
NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe was summoned to meet Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander as pressure mounted over the failure. Ryanair called for him to resign, saying the latest incident exposed serious weaknesses in the resilience of the UK’s air traffic control system. ([corporate.ryanair.com](https://corporate.ryanair.com/news/ryanair-calls-on-heidi-alexander-to-sack-overpaid-failing-nats-ceo-martin-rolfe/?utm_source=openai))
Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Mr Rolfe apologised to passengers but declined to say whether he would step down. He said NATS had restored normal operation but acknowledged that the disruption would take time to clear.
He also said a full investigation would be carried out and ruled out a cyber attack as the cause. “When these things happen, it is disappointing and upsetting, for which I apologise,” he said.
Ryanair’s chief operations officer, Neal McMahon, said the latest incident appeared to involve a flight-plan processing failure similar to the outage in August 2023, when more than 700,000 passengers were affected.
“The failing is that the backup system was unable to kick in and work,” he told Times Radio. “It’s not a backup system if it shuts down.”
NATS said the fault had been resolved, but warned that the knock-on effects would continue while airlines worked to return planes and crews to their scheduled positions. ([theguardian.com](https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/sep/09/uk-flight-cancellations-nats-martin-rolfe-heidi-alexander?utm_source=openai))
