Malaga Still Suffering From Major UK Air Traffic Glitch

Malaga Still Suffering From Major UK Air Traffic Glitch. Flights are facing ongoing disruption at Malaga Airport following a major glitch in the UK.

Malaga Still Suffering From Major UK Air Traffic Glitch

Holidaymakers and travellers using Malaga airport are facing ongoing disruption today following a major failure in the UK’s air traffic control infrastructure.

A technical fault within the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) flight data processing system hit UK airspace on Tuesday, forcing air traffic controllers to manually process flight plans and restrict airspace capacity for safety. The system outage resulted in the cancellation of over 1,300 flights to and from major UK hubs, including London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester, and Birmingham.

Málaga Hub Badly Hit

Málaga Costa del Sol Airport (AGP) has seen dozens of inbound and outbound flights delayed or cancelled as airlines scramble to reposition stranded aircraft and flight crews.

Although NATS engineers managed to fix the underlying technical issue on Tuesday evening, the knock-on impact is continuing to affect European flight corridors. Major operators servicing the UK – Málaga route are warning passengers that schedules remain heavily disrupted while they clear the backlog.

Transport authorities have urged all passengers travelling between the UK and Spain not to leave for the airport without checking the live status of their flight directly with their airline or via the official Aena airport app.

What Passengers Need to Know

Under UK261 and EU261 passenger welfare regulations travellers caught in severe delays are entitled to support:

Refreshment Vouchers: Airlines are legally required to provide food and drink vouchers for delays exceeding two hours on short routes.
Overnight Accommodation: If a flight is delayed until the following day, the airline must provide hotel accommodation and transport to and from the hotel.
Rebooking & Refunds: If a flight is cancelled, passengers can opt for a full refund or request to be rebooked on the next available alternative flight.

Travel experts advise passengers whose flights are cancelled to request support via their airline’s digital channels or mobile apps rather than waiting in airport terminal queues.

You can see the latest arrival and departure information at Malaga Airport using our free flight tracker, click here.

Published: 09.09.2026

Written by Dave James