LONDON (AP) — The head of Britain ’s air traffic control system was summoned to a meeting with the country's transport minister as airlines scrambled Wednesday to dig out from the backlog triggered by technical problems that forced the cancellation of more than 1,750 flights.
The problems first surfaced on Tuesday, disrupting travel across the U.K. and stranding passengers for hours on airport runways and in terminals. Flight delays were expected to continue through the day Wednesday as airlines rebook stranded passengers and work to reposition aircraft left at the wrong airports by the cancellations.
Britain's National Air Traffic Services, or NATS, which operates the air traffic control system, attributed the problems to “an issue in our flight processing system” that has been resolved. Delays rippled across 15 U.K. airports and beyond as airlines and airports worked to clear a huge backlog of delayed flights.
In a statement on X, Heathrow, Europe's largest airport, urged passengers to check their flight status before travelling to the airport and to "only travel if your flight is confirmed to be operating.''
“We apologize to those affected and have extra colleagues across our terminals to support passengers while we work with NATS and airline partners to restore normal operations as quickly as possible,” Heathrow said.
Budget carriers Ryanair and Wizz Air have called for the head of the NATS, Martin Rolfe, to consider resigning after a second major outage hit the air traffic control system in three years. Budget airline EasyJet said some of its flights were “unable to operate” and that the system failure caused “delays to flights across Europe.”
Rolfe on Wednesday apologized for the inconvenience caused by the outage but said the U.K. air traffic control system remains one of the safest and most efficient in the world.
“Our job is also to make sure that people stay safe,” he told the BBC. “We never do this lightly. We only ever do it when there is an issue that cannot be resolved quickly, and we have to take action to make (sure) those who are flying, who are in the air at that time, are safe. And when we can restore these incredibly complex systems we do so as quickly as we can.”
Neal McMahon, Ryanair’s chief operating officer, called on Rolfe to resign. On Tuesday, Ryanair said more than 65,000 of its passengers had been disrupted and it had cancelled more than 50 scheduled flights.
“How many more failures do passengers have to suffer before overpaid failure Nats CEO Martin Rolfe accepts responsibility for his repeated mismanagement and resigns?'' McMahon said. “Over three years after Nats’ catastrophic 2023 system meltdown, it’s clear that nothing has changed.''
But Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander sought further explanation and summoned Rolfe for a meeting.
“I am seeking assurances that lessons will be learned and systems that support aviation are up to the job,” she said in a post on X.
Affected airports included Heathrow and Gatwick as well as those in Manchester, Birmingham and Scotland. They warned passengers to check the status of their flight with their airline.
Passengers wait in line at Heathrow Airport in London, during an air traffic control problem that disrupted travel across Britain. (Jonathan Brady/PA via AP)
OSLO, Norway (AP) — Norway was bidding its final farewell to King Harald V on Wednesday as the popular monarch's coffin set off for a funeral attended by royalty and leaders from across Europe and beyond, with thousands of people lining the streets.
A 21-gun salute rang out over the capital at the start of the funeral procession from the royal palace to Oslo Cathedral. Harald's son, new King Haakon VIII, and other senior royals walked behind the coffin, draped with the red Norwegian royal standard.
Harald's widow, Queen Sonja, and Haakon's wife, Queen Mette-Marit, followed in a car. Norwegian officials and foreign dignitaries, among them royals from around the continent and political leaders including Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy, joined the procession.
Harald, who died on Aug. 28 aged 89, was Europe’s oldest monarch and had reigned for 35 years.
He had modernized the royal house, but refused to follow in the footsteps of other aging monarchs who have abdicated in recent times. His son immediately became king and last week took an oath of allegiance to Norway’s constitution in parliament.
Large crowds flocked to the capital for the funeral, and thousands stood behind barriers on streets lined with national flags. The downtown area was closed to vehicles and electric scooters, and police had instructed people not to bring bicycles, umbrellas or sharp objects.
People were tuning in from across the country. Scores of churches, libraries, cultural centers and city halls were making big screens available for the public to watch the funeral, public broadcaster NRK reported.
Ahead of the funeral, Norwegians waited patiently to file past Harald's coffin in the chapel of the royal palace. The queue was seven hours long at one point over the weekend. Over 46,000 people visited the chapel during the week it lay in state.
Among the guests expected on Wednesday were the monarchs of Sweden, Denmark, Spain, the Netherlands, Belgium and Jordan. The heir to the British throne, Prince William, was also expected, as is Crown Prince Akishino of Japan. Presidents from a range of European countries will join them.
Zelenskyy was also on hand. On Tuesday, he met with Norwegian Prime Minister Jonas Gahr Støre in Oslo to discuss the war in Ukraine. The United States will be represented by Under Secretary of State for Political Affairs Allison Hooker.
A minute's silence will be held across Norway at the start of the funeral ceremony. Eulogies will be delivered by Norway's parliament speaker and prime minister, and there will be a candlelighting ceremony with representatives of different faiths.
The government says it's not an official holiday, but schools and workplaces could individually opt to let students and employees tune in for Wednesday's events. The government advised that “noisy events should be suspended while the funeral is ongoing.”
After the funeral, Harald's coffin will be taken in a procession to the palace chapel at Akershus Castle, where the late king's ancestors are buried. After a private ceremony for the Norwegian royals, who will be joined by some of the foreign guests and senior Norwegian officials, it will be lowered into the crypt.
Norway’s monarchy traces its origins to King Harald Fairhair in the ninth century. When Norway regained its independence from Sweden in 1905, three-quarters of voters in a national plebiscite approved restoring the monarchy.
The Norwegian royal house has kinfolk in other European royal families. Harald and Haakon are related to both Britain’s King Charles III and Spain’s King Felipe VI: They’re all descendants of the U.K.'s Queen Victoria, who reigned from 1837 until her death to 1901.
Today, the throne's role is largely symbolic and power lies with the elected government and parliament, but the Norwegian royal family retains a role in promoting the wealthy Scandinavian nation around the world.
Norway's Queen Sonja and Queen Mette-Marit follow the procession carrying the coffin of King Harald V from the Royal Palace to Oslo Cathedral, in Oslo, Norway, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (Håkon Mosvold Larsen/NTB Scanpix via AP)
Members of Norway’s royal family, from left, Prince Sverre Magnus, King Haakon VIII, Crown Princess Ingrid Alexandra and Princess Märtha Louise walk behind the coffin of King Harald V as it is carried from the Royal Palace to Oslo Cathedral in Oslo, Norway, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (Ole Berg-Rusten Name/NTB via AP, Pool)
The coffin of King Harald V is taken in procession from the Royal Palace to Oslo Cathedral, in Oslo, Norway, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (Håkon Mosvold Larsen/NTB Scanpix via AP)
The coffin of Norway’s King Harald V is carried from the Royal Palace to Oslo Cathedral during a funeral procession in Oslo, Norway, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (Ole Berg-Rusten Name/NTB via AP, Pool)
The coffin of Norway’s King Harald V is carried from the Royal Palace to Oslo Cathedral during a funeral procession in Oslo, Norway, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (Ole Berg-Rusten Name/NTB via AP, Pool)
Military personnel wait in front of Oslo Cathedral ahead of the procession for the funeral of Norway's King Harald V in Oslo, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
The coffin of King Harald V is taken in procession from the Royal Palace to Oslo Cathedral, in Oslo, Norway, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (Håkon Mosvold Larsen/NTB Scanpix via AP)
Sweden's King Carl Gustaf and Queen Silvia on board a bus at Oslo Airport as they arrive for King Harald V funeral, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (Frederik Ringnes/NTB Scanpix via AP)
Soldiers march up Karl Johan before the coffin of King Harald V is carried from the Palace to Oslo Cathedral, on Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2025. (Ole Berg-Rusten/NTB Scanpix via AP)
Members of the public wait behind a barrier along the route of the procession for the funeral of Norway's King Harald V near Oslo Cathedral in Oslo, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Police officers reflected in a window with a display showing Norway's late King Harald V prior to his funeral in Oslo, Norway, Wednesday, Sept. 9, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Norway's King Harald V's coffin is moved by King Harald's family and court staff from the Red Salon to the Palace Chapel in Oslo, Monday, Aug. 31, 2026. (Javad Parsa/Pool Photo via AP)
A painting of Norway's late King Harald stand in flora tributes at the Palace Square in Oslo, Norway, Monday, Sept. 7, 2026. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber)
Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskyy is transported after arriving in Oslo, Norway, Tuesday, Sept. 8, 2026, one day ahead of King Harald V's funeral. (Frederik Ringnes/NTB Scanpix via AP)
