# Technical Disruption in the United Kingdom (Air Freight) **Category:** Operational Alerts | **Source:** Frachtportal Redaktion | **Published:** 2026-09-08 | **Updated:** 2026-09-12 **Tags:** LHR, Airfreight, Swiss, Swiss World Cargo, Luftfracht, ZRH, Supply Chain, Ausfall Flugsicherung, Flugsicherung, Logistik News, Transport News, Fracht News, Speditions News, Supply Chain News, Zoll News, Frachtportal News, Seefracht > A technical malfunction at British air traffic control led to ten cancelled SWISS flights. 1,007 passengers and presumably also freight shipments are affected. --- A technical disruption at British air traffic control NATS on September 8, 2026 severely impacted flight operations at several airports. Departures from London Heathrow were particularly affected. Gatwick, London City, Stansted, Manchester and other British airports also reported delays and cancellations. British airspace remained open in principle. According to NATS, the problem lay in the flight plan processing system. At times, only a few aircraft could take off. In the late afternoon, NATS announced that a technical solution had been implemented. However, a return to normal operations would require time. According to Flightradar24, at least 625 flights were cancelled in the UK. In addition, there were numerous delays. Heathrow was among the most heavily affected airports. SWISS CANCELS TEN FLIGHTS SWISS had to cancel ten individual flights to and from the UK by Tuesday evening. According to the airline, 1,007 passengers were affected. The number does not refer solely to London Heathrow. SWISS connections to Heathrow, Gatwick, London City and Manchester were impacted. For Wednesday, the airline planned to deploy larger aircraft on individual routes to offer additional seating capacity. Passengers are to be automatically rebooked onto the next available flight where possible. Due to impacts on aircraft, crew and available departure slots, further delays may occur. CARGO CAPACITY ALSO LOST The disruption also has consequences for air freight. Swiss WorldCargo transports shipments in the cargo hold of regular SWISS passenger aircraft. When such a flight is cancelled, the scheduled cargo capacity is also unavailable. Whether all ten cancelled flights actually carried booked shipments has not yet been confirmed. SWISS has not published information on the affected cargo volume. A concrete figure in tonnes would therefore be speculation. The London station of Swiss WorldCargo is located at Heathrow. General cargo, express shipments, dangerous goods, valuable shipments, perishable goods and temperature-controlled pharmaceutical products are handled there. According to the network plan, London has both air connections and truck transportation options available. Time-sensitive shipments could be rebooked to later flights or alternative connections within the Lufthansa Group. Road transport is also possible. However, shippers must reckon with longer transit times, customs formalities and limited alternative capacity. --- Shippers and freight forwarders should check the status of time-sensitive shipments to and from the United Kingdom directly. Connecting flights via Zurich are particularly important. For pharmaceuticals, spare parts, and perishable goods, even a delay of a few hours can have consequences. Logistics service providers should request alternative capacity early. Private individuals with urgent international shipments must also expect delays. However, not every parcel shipment is routed via Heathrow or SWISS. A general delay of all shipments between the United Kingdom and Switzerland cannot be inferred from this disruption. --- The disruption occurred on September 8, 2026 in NATS' flight schedule processing system. At least 625 flights were cancelled in the United Kingdom. SWISS cancelled ten individual flights by Tuesday evening. In total, 1,007 SWISS passengers were affected. A confirmed number of affected freight shipments is not available. ## Related Entities ### Countries - [United Kingdom](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/land/gb) ### Airports - [London Heathrow Airport (LHR)](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/information/airports/london-heathrow-airport-lhr) ### Glossary - [Cargo](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/cargo) - [Freight](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/freight) - [Dangerous goods](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/dangerous-goods) - [Air freight](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/air-freight-2) - [Shipment](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/shipment) - [Goods](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/goods) - [Air Cargo](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/air-cargo) - [Air Cargo Optimization Software](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/air-cargo-optimization-software) - [Airline](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/airline) - [Aircraft](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/aircraft) - [Airline](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/airline-2) - [Airplane](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/airplane) - [Airspace](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/airspace) - [Dangerous goods](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/dangerous-goods-2) - [Air freight](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/air-freight-3) - [Hazardous Goods](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/hazardous-goods) - [International Airfreight Forwarders Association (IAFA)](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/international-airfreight-forwarders-association-iafa) - [Jet Cargo Charter Operations](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/jet-cargo-charter-operations) - [Air cargo](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/air-cargo-2) - [Airport Cargo Audit](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/airport-cargo-audit) - [air freight liability](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/glossary/air-freight-liability) --- *Canonical URL: [https://www.freight-academy.com/en/news/technische-stoerung-in-grossbritannien-luftfracht-20260908175852](https://www.freight-academy.com/en/news/technische-stoerung-in-grossbritannien-luftfracht-20260908175852)* *Markdown mirror: [https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/news/en/technische-stoerung-in-grossbritannien-luftfracht-20260908175852](https://www.freight-academy.com/api/md/news/en/technische-stoerung-in-grossbritannien-luftfracht-20260908175852)*