英国空管普雷斯特威克中心突发IT故障致多地航班受阻Fresh IT Failure at UK Air Traffic Control Center Disrupts Flights

2026年9月21日清晨，英国国家航空交通服务公司设在苏格兰普雷斯特威克的第二控制中心出现IT技术故障，直接冲击了苏格兰、英格兰北部以及北爱尔兰的进出港航班运行。大量航班陷入严重延误，数十架次进出港航班被迫取消，机场运行节奏受到显著干扰。

On the morning of September 21, 2026, an IT technical fault hit the National Air Traffic Services second control centre at Prestwick in Scotland, severely disrupting inbound and outbound flights across Scotland, northern England, and Northern Ireland. The technical failure caused severe departure and arrival delays and led to dozens of immediate flight cancellations across the impacted regional airports.

Nats随后在一份声明中确认，普雷斯特威克控制中心的技术故障已在上午10时30分左右由工程师修复。机构发言人表示，工作人员正与各机场和航空公司协同推进安全解除空管流量限制的工作，以尽可能减少后续延误，同时建议旅客在前往机场前及时向所属航司核查最新航班动态。

Nats stated that the system issue at the Prestwick centre was resolved by engineers at approximately 10:30 am. A spokesperson for the air navigation provider said teams were actively working alongside airports and airlines to safely lift air traffic management regulations as quickly as possible to minimise lingering disruption, while advising passengers to verify their flight status directly with carriers.

普雷斯特威克控制中心的故障发生后，多家主要航空公司迅速对其运营造成的干扰表达不满。易捷航空发言人表示，空管系统故障导致部分航班延误且部分架次无法执飞，这再度引发了外界对Nats系统韧性的质疑，表明必须采取果断行动以防止此类故障反复出现。英国航空发言人指出，空管技术问题导致部分旅客行程受阻，公司感到失望，并在事件完全超出自身控制的情况下全力降低对旅客的影响并及时通报最新动态。

Major carriers responded swiftly to the Prestwick failure by criticising the operational fallout on their flight networks. An easyJet spokesperson stated that the system failure left some flights delayed and others unable to operate, arguing that the disruption once again called into question the resilience of Nats's systems and demonstrated the urgent need for firm preventative actions. A British Airways spokesperson expressed disappointment that another technical fault would disrupt customer travel plans, emphasising that while the situation was entirely outside airline control, teams were working to limit the impact on passengers and provide timely updates.

瑞安航空首席运营官尼尔·麦克马洪对该事件提出严厉批评，指出在Nats向航司和旅客保证已出台强有力“缓解方案”仅三天后，其飞行数据处理系统便再次瘫痪。瑞安航空统计已有超过140架次航班延误，波及逾2.5万名旅客。该航司借此重申了要求解雇Nats首席执行官马丁·罗尔夫的诉求，指责管理层未能有效保障国家空管网络的稳定性。

Ryanair Chief Operations Officer Neal McMahon delivered a particularly sharp rebuke, highlighting that the flight data processing system failed just three days after Nats assured airlines and passengers of robust mitigation plans. Ryanair reported that more than 140 of its flights had been delayed, affecting over 25,000 customers. The carrier used the latest disruption to reiterate its formal demand for the sacking of Nats chief executive Martin Rolfe, pointing to repeated management failures in maintaining stable air navigation services.

普雷斯特威克控制中心的技术故障发生时，距Nats英格兰控制中心发生严重事故打乱数十万名旅客行程尚不足两周。仅在三天前，Nats刚刚针对此前事件发布了一份初步报告，并公开承诺将“持续改进所提供的关键服务”。针对此次出现的问题，Nats发布声明向受影响旅客致歉，并明确表示普雷斯特威克的IT故障与两周前英格兰发生的事故无关。

The technical failure at Prestwick came less than two weeks after a major incident at Nats's control centre in England disrupted travel for hundreds of thousands of passengers. The latest breakdown occurred only three days after Nats released an initial report into that earlier failure, in which the organisation formally pledged to continually improve the critical service it provides. Addressing the new disruption, Nats issued an apology to affected passengers and stated that the technical problem at Prestwick was entirely unrelated to the issue that occurred two weeks prior.

英国交通大臣海蒂·亚历山大在上午10:30刚过即在社交媒体平台X上发文证实，影响Nats的IT问题已由工程师解决，空管系统正在恢复运行。亚历山大表示，在经历前一次事件后，本次故障对旅客而言无疑令人深感沮丧，且随着系统重启可能会出现部分后续延误，并提示旅客及时向所属航空公司了解最新航班动态。

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander posted on the social media platform X shortly after 10:30 am to confirm that engineers had resolved the IT issue affecting Nats and that systems were resuming. Acknowledging the passenger fallout, Alexander noted that the fresh failure would prove deeply frustrating for travellers following the previous incident, cautioning that some lingering delays might persist while operations reset, and advising passengers to check directly with their airlines for flight updates.

在英国法律框架下，无论航班延误或取消的具体原因为何，航空公司均对受影响旅客负有法定的照料义务。乘坐自英国机场出发航班、搭乘英国或欧盟航司抵达英国航班，以及搭乘英国航司前往欧盟机场的旅客，均受到该法规保护。航司必须向旅客提供选择权，允许其申请未搭乘航段的退款，或免费改签至替代航班；若其他航司或交通方式能显著提前抵达目的地，旅客有权要求改签至相关替代方案。同时，航司必须免费提供合理的餐饮、通信支持以及在必要过夜时的住宿。

Under UK legislation, airlines maintain a strict statutory duty of care toward passengers whenever flights are delayed or cancelled, regardless of the underlying cause of the disruption. These protections apply to all travellers flying from a UK airport on any carrier, arriving at a UK airport on an EU or UK airline, or travelling to an EU destination on a UK airline. Covered carriers must offer passengers a choice between a refund for unused portions of their ticket or free rerouting to their final destination on an alternative flight, including options on competitor airlines or alternative transport if they depart significantly sooner. Airlines must also provide reasonable food, drink, communication facilities, and complimentary overnight accommodation when necessary.

尽管旅客享有改签与照料权益，但因空管系统故障引发的航班问题并不适用额外的法定延误赔偿。英国法规明确规定，只有在延误或取消由航空公司自身过错导致时，承运人才须支付额外赔偿金。对于因空管故障导致的未消费酒店或行程损失，旅客需视付款方式向信用卡机构提出索赔，或结合具体保单条款向旅行保险公司申请理赔。

However, affected travellers are not entitled to additional statutory compensation for delays caused by air traffic management glitches. UK rules stipulate that extra cash compensation is payable only when an airline itself is directly at fault, which excludes external air traffic control system failures. For ancillary financial losses, such as unused hotel reservations or prepaid activities, passengers must pursue claims through their credit card providers or examine their travel insurance policies to determine applicable coverage.