The failure of the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) Flight Planning System in August 2023 caused significant delays and cancellations to flights to and from the UK, according to the Cabinet Office's UK Government Resilience Framework 2023 Implementation Update, published on 4 December 20231. The update lists the incident among the events to which the government's crisis response structures responded during the year1.
The update gives no date within August for the failure, no figure for the number of flights affected, no estimate of the number of passengers delayed or stranded, and no account of the cause. It does not say how long the disruption lasted or what measures were taken in response. None of these details are reported in the document1.
The NATS failure is recorded alongside other incidents handled during the year. Between December 2022 and January 2023, cross-government responses were stood up to prolonged extreme cold and major water outages due to freeze-thaw1. In June, departments dealt with a technical fault which limited the public's ability to access emergency services through the 999 system1. In October and November, the government responded to severe winter storms and associated flooding across the country1. The update also records that the National Cyber Security Centre received 2,005 incident reports during the year, an increase of almost 64 per cent from the previous year's 1,2261.
The document sets the NATS failure in the context of the government's wider resilience programme. It states that the latest external version of the National Security Risk Assessment, the National Risk Register, was published on GOV.UK on 3 August 20231. It also records that the Emergency Alerts service, which issues alerts to compatible smartphones, is now fully operational1.
"In August there was a failure of the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) Flight Planning System which caused significant delays and cancellations to flights to and from the UK"
Why it matters for households
The disruption affected flights to and from the UK, so households with travel booked in that period, or with family and friends due to fly, were affected by delays and cancellations1. The update does not say which airports, airlines or routes were involved, or how long the disruption lasted, so the extent of the impact on individual travellers has not been reported1. No advice to passengers is given in the document1.
The incident is one of several in the update that affected services households rely on during 2023, including the 999 technical fault in June, water outages caused by freeze-thaw, and winter storms and flooding1. The update describes the government's stated approach of building resilience across society, including through the National Risk Register and the Emergency Alerts service, which it says allows rapid communication with the public where there is danger to life1. Households wanting to follow official warnings and public alerts can find background in the guide to staying informed.
What happens next
The update says the government will focus on the prospect of further severe weather and flooding, the ongoing avian influenza outbreak and further industrial action as it moves into the winter period1. It also records that the UK Resilience Forum will meet for the first time in December 20231. No further steps specific to the NATS Flight Planning System failure are set out in the document1.
