Air India flight AI 131 from Mumbai to London was diverted to Zurich and later cancelled after a technical disruption in the United Kingdom’s air traffic control system affected operations at London Heathrow Airport on September 9, 2026. More than 290 passengers were on board the flight, according to Mid-Day.
The aircraft landed at Zurich Airport after being unable to continue to its scheduled destination. Passengers initially remained on board while airline officials assessed the situation and waited for information about the resumption of Heathrow operations. The flight was subsequently cancelled, and passengers were asked to leave the aircraft at Zurich.
The disruption followed a technical problem involving Nats, the UK air traffic control provider. Heathrow said arrivals had been suspended for the remainder of the day as a safety measure for passengers and staff. Departures had resumed, but the airport warned that disruption would continue.
In a statement posted on X, Heathrow advised passengers to check with their airlines for the latest flight information before travelling to the airport. The airport also apologised to affected passengers and said it was supporting Nats and airline partners as they worked to manage the disruption.
The impact extended beyond Heathrow. Flight-tracking service FlightRadar reported that more than 1,000 flights had been cancelled across UK airports following the technical failure at a Nats air traffic control facility. Airports including those serving London, Manchester and Birmingham were affected, adding delays and cancellations across the country’s aviation network.
Nats said the system issue had been resolved, but warned that clearing the backlog would take time. “Recovery from today’s system issue has taken longer than we had hoped. Our system issue is now resolved, we are operating normally and working as hard as possible to clear the backlog,” the provider said in a statement.
Nats added that the recovery had been complex and created difficulties for airlines and airports across the wider network. Airlines and airport operators continued working to restore schedules and manage passengers affected by the cancellations and delays. The next steps for passengers on the cancelled Air India service were to be communicated through the airline as recovery operations continued.
