In a major disruption to air travel, London’s Heathrow Airport faced significant chaos as a fire forced the closure of its facilities. The incident led to the cancellation of over 1,300 flights, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers. The blaze broke out at an electrical substation, with authorities diligently investigating the cause. The following sections explore similar past events that have caused air travel disruptions worldwide.
In July 2024, a problematic software update from cybersecurity company CrowdStrike caused severe global disruptions. Airlines found themselves unable to access booking systems, resulting in thousands of flight cancellations and delays in airports across the United States, Europe, Asia, and Latin America. This bizarre incident left countless travelers stranded and airports congested.
August 2023 presented another hurdle for UK airports when a technical glitch struck at Britain’s National Air Traffic Services. This issue forced flight plans to be managed manually rather than through automated systems, resulting in delays and cancellations during peak travel season. The NATS system, which started operations in 2002, has encountered a few software-related failures since its inception.
The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 had a disastrous impact on global air travel. As the new coronavirus spread, many countries closed borders, and airports worldwide effectively shut down, causing an 80% reduction in flights by April 2020. When flights resumed, travelers faced new restrictions, including mandatory mask-wearing and coronavirus testing, transforming flying into a more complex and costly endeavor. It wasn’t until 2024 that passenger numbers returned to pre-pandemic levels.
Another notable disruption occurred in December 2018 when drone sightings temporarily shut down London Gatwick Airport, Britain’s second-largest airport. These incidents left over 140,000 passengers stranded or delayed as operations ceased for parts of three consecutive days. A lengthy police investigation failed to conclusively find those responsible or verify the authenticity of all reported drone sightings.
In May 2017, British Airways experienced an IT outage that forced the cancelation of all flights from Heathrow and Gatwick on a busy holiday weekend. The airline attributed the issue to a power supply failure, which affected roughly 75,000 travelers, highlighting the importance of robust IT systems in airlines’ operations.
August 2016 saw Delta Air Lines battling a worldwide grounding of flights when an electrical component malfunctioned, shutting down the crucial transformer for the company’s data center. As a result, Delta was compelled to cancel over 2,000 flights, incurring a $100 million revenue loss due to the outage.
In April 2010, an Icelandic volcanic eruption thrust Eyjafjallajökull (ay-yah-FYAH-lah-yer-kuhl) into the global spotlight. The resulting ash clouds over northern Europe led to the temporary cessation of air travel in the region due to safety concerns over jet engines. More than 100,000 flights were canceled, stranding millions, and inflicting an economic cost estimated at $3 billion.
In September 2001, the 9/11 attacks resulted in the unprecedented closure of U.S. airspace to commercial flights. As hijackers attacked multiple sites, thousands of flights were canceled or diverted to Canadian and Mexican airspace. Air traffic resumed two days later with increased security measures, introducing new protocols for heightened scrutiny and extended passenger queues. This marked a significant shift in aviation security standards that continue to affect air travel to this day.