Etihad Airways on Wednesday confirmed disruption to multiple flights between London Heathrow and Abu Dhabi after a technical fault in the UK’s air traffic control system triggered widespread delays and cancellations at major British airports.
The Abu Dhabi-based carrier said EY64 from Heathrow to Abu Dhabi has been cancelled, while EY66 on the same route is now expected to depart at 21:30. A third service, EY68, is facing an extended delay after its inbound aircraft, operating as EY67, was diverted to Paris Charles de Gaulle.
“The situation remains dynamic and further changes are possible,” Etihad said, adding that its teams are assisting affected passengers with hotel accommodation and rebooking onward travel. The airline has urged guests travelling to or from the UK to check their flight status on etihad.com and to ensure their contact details are up to date via the Manage Your Booking portal so they receive the latest updates.
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Passengers with queries have been directed to Etihad’s dedicated help page for local phone numbers, live chat and social media support.
Wider UK disruption
Etihad’s advisory follows a technical fault at National Air Traffic Services (Nats), the UK’s air traffic control provider, which forced restrictions on departures from Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Manchester and other major aviation hubs on Tuesday.
Nats said the issue affected its flight-processing system and that a fix was implemented later in the day, though it warned that recovery would take longer than initially expected.
According to flight-tracking data, more than 1,300 flights to and from UK airports were cancelled on Tuesday, with a further 177 cancellations confirmed for Wednesday, most of them at Heathrow.
Emirates and Qatar Airways also issued travel advisories warning Dubai and Doha passengers of disruption on UK routes, while low-cost carriers including Ryanair and Wizz Air criticised Nats over the scale of the fallout.
The incident echoes a network-wide Nats failure in August 2023 that grounded flights across the UK for hours and left a backlog running into the following bank holiday, renewing scrutiny of the resilience of Britain’s air traffic infrastructure.
Source: Khaleej Times