The Gunners were unable to catch their flight to Naples ahead of their Champions League game due to a technical issue which forced hundred of flights to face delays and cancellations
LUTON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 08: Martin Odegaard, Kai Havertz, Viktor Gyokeres and Ben White of Arsenal board the team flight to Italy for the UEFA Champions League fixture against SSC Napoli at Luton Airport on September 08, 2026 in Luton, England. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
The Arsenal team boarded the plane later than expected after delays
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Arsenal's travel for their upcoming Champions League game against Napoli has been disrupted due to flight cancellation chaos.
The team were delayed catching their flight to Naples because of air traffic control issues which left thousands of people stranded across the UK.
The technical failure meant the North London team's flight was delayed. Players remained at the club training ground and left later for the airport.
Manager Mikel Arteta was due to speak to journalists at a press conference in Naples on Tuesday evening, alongside defender Riccardo Calafiori, ahead of their opening European fixture of the season.
Passengers at Gatwick Airport's South Terminal in Crawley, West Sussex, after flights were cancelled on Tuesday because of a UK air traffic control issue.
Passengers at Gatwick Airport's South Terminal in Crawley, West Sussex, after flights were cancelled on Tuesday because of a UK air traffic control issue. (Image: Jordan Pettitt/PA Wire)
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However, due to the chaos, the Gunners were not expected to arrive in Naples until around 9.30pm local time (8.30pm UK time).
NATS, which provides air traffic control services to 15 UK airports, has said recovery from a technical issue which forced the cancellation of more than 400 flights “has taken longer than we had hoped” but is “resolved”.
The “system issue” on Tuesday had been resolved by 7.30pm however, thousands remain impacted by the delays and cancellations at UK airports.
Many passengers reported being 'trapped' on planes or 'stranded' at airports due to the issues.
Flight monitoring website Flightradar24 said more than 1,000 flights had been cancelled at UK airports by about 8pm.
LUTON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 08: Declan Riceof Arsenal boards the team flight to Italy for the UEFA Champions League fixture against SSC Napoli at Luton Airport on September 08, 2026 in Luton, England. (Photo by Stuart MacFarlane/Arsenal FC via Getty Images)
Rice boarded the flight on Tuesday after delays
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Ryanair said more than 65,000 of its passengers had been disrupted and it had cancelled more than 50 scheduled flights.
British Airways (BA) said it was forced to cancel or divert more than 100 flights on Tuesday which had impacted “tens of thousands of customers”.
The boss of the air traffic control provider, Nats, said he “always” accepts “full responsibility” after a technical issue caused huge disruption to flights.
Nats’ chief executive officer Martin Rolfe said “I always accept full responsibility”.
He said: “I am the CEO of a piece of critical infrastructure, so it is my job to take responsibility for that.
Thousands of people have been left 'stranded' due to the disruption(Image: Ed Easton/Daily Mirror)
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“What I absolutely take responsibility for is keeping people safe and delivering the best service we possibly can on a day like today.
“You will understand my focus is entirely about how we actually resolve this issue, get things back to normal, help our airlines, our airport customers and the travelling public.”
Neal McMahon, Ryanair’s chief operating officer, called on Mr Rolfe to resign, saying: “How many more failures do passengers have to suffer before overpaid failure Nats CEO Martin Rolfe accepts responsibility for his repeated mismanagement and resigns?
“Over three years after Nats’ catastrophic 2023 system meltdown, it’s clear that nothing has changed, with UK passengers once again suffering avoidable ATC (air traffic control) delays of up to eight hours today due a critical Nats ATC system failing.”
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is due to speak with Mr Rolfe on Wednesday before she addresses MPs in the Commons for the second reading of the Civil Aviation Bill.
Mr Rolfe said airlines would be able to provide the best information on how long the ongoing impact would take to resolve.