Disruption at Heathrow, Gatwick, Munich, Copenhagen, and Moscow airports affects 1,141 flights

Disruption overview

A day of operational disruption at major hubs in Moscow, London, Munich, and Copenhagen on 11 April 2026 affected 1,141 flights across four countries. Most of the disruption took the form of delays, but 55 flights were canceled and some schedules did not recover until early 12 April. The knock-on effect spread to airlines including Rossiya Airlines, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines, Scandinavian Airlines, and ITA Airways, with an estimated 180,000 to 220,000 passengers affected. If your flight was caught up in the disruption, your rights will depend on the exact cause of the delay or cancellation, and AirHelp's free flight checker can help you understand whether EC 261 may apply.

Disruption details

Operational disruption at Sheremetyevo International Airport and Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow, London Heathrow Airport, London Gatwick Airport, Munich Airport, and Copenhagen Airport on 11 April 2026 affected 1,141 flights across Russia, the United Kingdom, Germany, and Denmark. Of those, 1,086 were delayed and 55 were canceled, with recovery in some networks stretching into the early hours of 12 April 2026.

For passengers, this meant missed connections, longer waits, and rerouted journeys across Europe and beyond. The first delays appeared between 6:00 am and 10:00 am UTC, then spread through the day as late-running aircraft and crews fell out of position. Long-haul services to Istanbul, Dubai, and other destinations in the Middle East and Asia were also affected when feeder flights arrived behind schedule.

The scale of the disruption looked like this:

• A total of 1,141 flights were disrupted across four countries.

• Major pressure points included Sheremetyevo International Airport and Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow, London Heathrow Airport and London Gatwick Airport, Munich Airport, and Copenhagen Airport.

• Only 4.8% of affected flights were canceled, but the high number of delays still put pressure on gates, aircraft rotations, and crews.

• The likely passenger impact was significant, with an estimated 180,000 to 220,000 people affected.

There wasn't one clear trigger behind the disruption. Instead, several local operational problems built on each other across tightly scheduled airport and airline networks. When aircraft started the morning 30 to 45 minutes late, those delays often turned into multi-hour knock-on disruption by the afternoon, especially on short-turn European routes with very little slack in the schedule.

The knock-on effect was felt by Rossiya Airlines on Moscow-Europe services, by KLM Royal Dutch Airlines across its Amsterdam-centered network, by Scandinavian Airlines at an already pressured Copenhagen hub, and by ITA Airways on codeshare itineraries linked to the disrupted airports. As connections were missed, rerouting spread the impact well beyond the original hubs.

Airlines largely chose to operate flights late rather than cancel them outright. That kept the number of cancellations relatively low, but it also meant some passengers spent much of the day waiting for revised departure times. As gates filled up and crews approached maximum duty limits, some evening flights were eventually canceled anyway.

By the evening of 11 April 2026, most of the main hubs were still running behind schedule, and some feeder routes did not return to normal until 12 April 2026. It was a clear reminder of how quickly early delays can grow into a network-wide problem when schedules leave very little room to recover.

If your journey was affected, your rights will depend on the exact reason your flight was delayed or canceled. For flights covered by EC 261, you may still be entitled to care, rerouting or a refund, and in some cases compensation if the disruption was within the airline's control. If the cause was outside the airline's control, compensation may not apply. You can use AirHelp's free flight checker to see what may apply to your flight.

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