KM Airlines cancels London flights after UK air traffic control failure

KM Airlines cancelled flights to and from London Heathrow and Gatwick on Tuesday following a failure in the UK’s air traffic control system, with some passengers unable to secure replacement flights within the week.

KM Airlines advised passengers who wish to rebook their journey to an alternative date or explore different routes by contacting their Customer Care department on 21356000.

Passengers who do not wish to reschedule their flight will be given a full refund through KM Airline’s website.

The airline explained that the issue was caused by a technical difficulty in the UK’s National Air Traffic Services (NATS) system, which is used to process flight plans and manage aircraft movements.

The disruption affected numerous airlines and resulted in the forced cancellation of one operation between Malta and London Gatwick and another from Malta and London Gatwick.

Since the disruption occurred during a period of exceptionally high travel demand, KM Airlines was unable to offer affected passengers alternative flights within the week since most available flights were already fully booked.

Flight services will continue to operate normally from Wednesday, although the airline noted that some delays may still occur as airports and air traffic control system gradually return to normal operating patterns.

It concluded by apologising to all affected passengers for the inconvenience caused by the disruption and underlined its commitment to assisting customers through updates as further information becomes available.

UK airports face over 1,300 flight cancellations

In London, tens of thousands of passengers were affected by the disruption with more cancellations and delays expected while the system returns to normal activity.

According to FlightRadar, over 1,300 flights to and from British airports were cancelled by Wednesday morning.

Around 246 flights were cancelled to London Heathrow, will another 33 cancellations hit London Gatwick.

Other affected airports include Manchester and Stansted, together making up the UK’s largest airports during their busiest season.

The head of the NATS ruled out a cyber-attack as the cause of the distruption.