Luton Airport flights cancelled for 95 minutes after lightning strike

A lightning strike knocked out the air traffic control system at London Luton Airport on Thursday evening, halting departures and arrivals for about 95 minutes. The outage began at roughly 5:40 pm and ended around 7:15 pm, according to the airport. During that period, around 30 scheduled services were cancelled or diverted, leaving passengers stranded and prompting immediate safety procedures. The incident occurred as severe thunderstorms swept across the south east, a weather pattern also reported to have affected London Stansted Airport.

Timeline of the outage

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Luton Airport’s operations team recorded the first loss of radar and communication links at 5:38 pm, with the lightning strike confirmed a few minutes later. Controllers were taken offline while backup systems were tested, extending the suspension until 7:15 pm when normal service was restored. The airport’s public statements noted that the pause lasted 95 minutes, matching the duration reported by the National Air Traffic Services (NATS).

Scope of the impact

The airport estimated that 30 flight services were directly affected, including both departures and arrivals. Some flights were diverted to nearby airports, and a small number of passengers reported being held on the tarmac for up to two hours. NATS added that the same thunderstorm system caused significant disruption at Stansted Airport, although the exact number of affected services there was not disclosed.

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Official response

NATS issued a statement to The Standard saying, “Severe thunderstorms have affected parts of the south east this evening, causing significant disruption to flights at London Luton and Stansted airports.” A Luton Airport spokesperson told The Standard that “Flights to and from London Luton Airport have now resumed following an earlier suspension of operations caused by a lightning strike affecting Air Traffic Control equipment.” Both organisations apologised for the inconvenience.

Severe thunderstorms have affected parts of the south east this evening, causing significant disruption to flights at London Luton and Stansted airports.

NATS, statement to The Standard

What passengers should do

The airport advised all travellers to check the status of their bookings directly with the operating airline, as some services continued to experience delays while airlines rebuilt their schedules. Customer service desks remained open after 7:15 pm, and the airport’s website posted real‑time updates for the affected routes.

Next steps

Airlines are now working to re‑accommodate passengers whose flights were cancelled or delayed. NATS indicated that monitoring of the weather will continue throughout the night, and that no further interruptions are expected unless the storm system returns. Passengers with connecting journeys were encouraged to contact their carriers for alternative arrangements.