2 SIA flights cancelled, 2 diverted after air traffic control glitch at major British airports
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More than 150 flights were scrapped across Britain on Sept 9, in addition to the 1,300 flights cancelled on Sept 8.
PHOTO: AFP
- Two Singapore Airlines flights to London were diverted to Paris and Munich due to a technical glitch in Britain's air traffic control system on Sept 8.
- The diversions caused cancellation of two return flights from London to Singapore and contributed to over 1,450 flight cancellations across British airports over two days.
- SIA provided affected passengers with accommodation, transport, and rebooking assistance while Britain’s National Air Traffic Services continued working to resolve the system issue.
AI generated
SINGAPORE – Two Singapore Airlines (SIA) flights were diverted and another two were cancelled on Sept 8 due to a technical glitch affecting air traffic control services at major airports in Britain.
In a statement on Sept 9, SIA said flights SQ308 and SQ318 from Singapore to London Heathrow had to be diverted.
Britain’s National Air Traffic Services (NATS) said the issue had impacted its flight data processing system, resulting in thousands of flight disruptions across the country.
An SIA spokesperson said that SQ308, which had 401 passengers and 29 crew members on board, was diverted to Paris Charles de Gaulle Airport in France.
The Airbus A380-800 aircraft landed at around 6.30pm local time (12.30am Singapore time on Sept 9) and passengers were transferred to London by land.
Meanwhile, SQ318 was diverted to Munich Airport in Germany and landed at 8.09pm local time (2.09am Singapore time on Sept 9).
There were 203 passengers and 19 crew members on board.
The airline said that it plans to operate the Boeing 777-300ER aircraft from Munich to London Heathrow “once the necessary clearances have been received”.
Due to the diversions, SIA said that return flights SQ319 and SQ321, which were scheduled to depart London Heathrow for Singapore on Sept 8, were cancelled.
Travellers continued to face chaos at airports across Britain for a second day, with more than 150 flights scrapped on Sept 9 due to the glitch.
This was in addition to the 1,300 cancellations to and from British airports on Sept 8.
NATS said it was still working to resolve the disruption following a “system issue”.
According to live flight tracker FlightRadar24, nearly all the flights cancelled on Sept 9 were at Heathrow in London.
The airport said late on Sept 8 that departures had resumed, after it was forced to suspend arrivals earlier that day.
However, it has warned that “disruption is expected to continue”.
In its statement, SIA said it provided affected passengers with the assistance they needed, including hotel accommodation and ground transport.
The airline also helped passengers to rebook their connecting flights, the spokesperson said.
Passengers are advised to visit SIA’s flight status page for more information on their flights.
“SIA sincerely apologises to all affected customers for the inconvenience caused. The safety of our customers and crew is our top priority,” it said.
The latest air traffic chaos follows a technical glitch in July 2025 that saw scores of flights to and from Britain cancelled, prompting anger from airline chiefs.
Britain suffered its worst air systems failure in years in 2023, with more than 700,000 passengers affected after hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled.