Surviving airport chaos

Heathrow Terminal 3 was a dismal place to be last Wednesday evening. With more than 2,000 flights grounded or severely delayed across the country due to a Nats “technical glitch” that caused widespread disruption, there were hundreds of passengers with nowhere to go. People were gathering in long check-in lines that didn’t move, sitting in groups around the entrance, trying to calm tired children, or sprawled out on the floor surrounded by bags and cases. Some staff were desperately trying to clear a pathway through the crowds, others were attempting to herd people outside, and a few were telling anxious passengers that they didn’t have any information (or that they should simply go home). One sole staff member was handing out bottles of water – a supply that diminished rapidly. Airport hotels were being booked up at lightning speed and other accommodation options in the area were also filling rapidly. Many people were left tired, hungry, anxious, and clueless as to when they might reach their destination. Other unlucky souls were already sitting on planes on the runway, where many stayed for hours before being de-planed and sent back to the terminal. Although the airports were not responsible for the Nats failures, they were the ones left dealing with the consequences – and they weren’t dealing with them particularly well.

Speaking in the House of Commons the following day, Ruth Cadbury, chair of the transport committee, said that it’s time for airports to make contingency plans for events like this. During a speech in which she questioned whether passenger rights are fit for purpose, Ms Cadbury said there are two factors that would make flight disruption less stressful: getting information from airlines regularly, and providing what passengers need, “whatever the cause of the problem, and whoever ultimately pays the cost”. She continued: “They need toilets. They need refreshments. They need a bed for the night, or at least somewhere comfortable to sleep. For instance, should airports have supplies of camp beds and emergency drinks and snacks, baby food? Allocated trained staff able to come in to support passengers?”

Treating an event like this as if it were a crisis moment seems like a sensible course of action. The main complaints I heard from passengers on Tuesday were that they were not given clear information; that people were left without food and water; that there was no provision for sick or elderly people; that people were forced to sleep on the airport floor; and that luggage was missing. These are all things that can, and should, be handled better. As Ms Cadbury suggests, would it not be reasonable to expect that airports provide rest areas with cots for elderly, sick or vulnerable people? A supply of non-perishable food and water (and a process to distribute it)? A well managed exit and entry system so the flow of passengers can be managed? And, perhaps most importantly, should it not be a requirement that clear, regular and accurate information is communicated to passengers?

Ms Cadbury, quite fairly, has anticipated that cost would be an issue. She added: “Our local authorities have contributed plans and stores in case of incidents such as homes having to be evacuated. So maybe airports could learn something from our local authorities who don’t start asking who’s going to pay.” Surely this is an investment in safety and planning that would go a long way. An area in which the UK lags behind other European countries is preparedness (just ask the Finns or Norwegians), and we really ought to do better. I would venture to suggest this is not the last time that we will see nationwide flight disruption. Tuesday had clear echoes of the miserable August bank holiday weekend in 2023 when hundreds of thousands of passengers suffered cancelled or delayed flights. Then there was the smaller incident in 2025 that also affected major UK airports. Like this week’s disruption, both were the result of technical faults at the air traffic control provider. Three incidences of widespread disruption in four years is not a rate to be particularly proud of.

While Nats is on a seven-day countdown to provide answers, and boss Martin Rolfe fends off demands he step down, UK airports should take their own action. With operations now returning to normal and most passengers having been flown to their desired destinations, it’s time airports start looking ahead to make sure that if (or when) this level of flight disruption happens again, they are ready for it.

YOUR RIGHTS WHEN A FLIGHT IS CANCELLED