Storyline
Heathrow air traffic disruption September 2026
One page that accretes the verified record as the story develops. Every fact keeps its date and its sources.
1 DAYS
16 FACTS
2 EVENTS
2 SOURCES
FIRST ENTRY SEP 09
SEP 09 · Day 1
UK air traffic chief rules out cyber attack after massive Heathrow disruption
Heathrow airport shut down for almost a whole day in March 2025 due to a power outage at a nearby electrical substation.
Rail links to Heathrow were suspended at the weekend due to a fire.
Martin Rolfe said NATS had not seen an incident like this in 50 years of operation.
SEP 09 · Day 1
UK airport chaos ruins travelers' holidays
An air traffic control system outage led to thousands of flight cancellations on Tuesday.
British transport minister Heidi Alexander instructed the UK’s independent aerospace regulator to conduct an independent review into the cause of an air traffic control system outage.