Arsenal press conference cancelled after UK air traffic disruption delays Napoli trip

Arsenal’s preparations for Wednesday’s UEFA Champions League match against Napoli were disrupted after the club became caught up in widespread travel chaos affecting airports across the United Kingdom.

The delays forced manager Mikel Arteta to cancel his scheduled pre-match press conference on Tuesday evening after Arsenal’s flight to Italy was delayed, according to the English newspaper the Daily Mail.

The disruption was linked to problems with air traffic control in the UK. Flights were grounded at most of the country’s major airports on Tuesday after what was described as a “technical fault”.

Almost 300 flights departing from the UK were cancelled as a result, affecting thousands of holidaymakers as well as the Premier League champions.

Arsenal’s players and staff reportedly remained at the club’s training ground at London Colney while they waited for the situation to be resolved. They later travelled to the airport once a new departure time had been confirmed.

At about 18:30 BST, Arsenal published a video on its official account on X showing the squad boarding a plane.

The incident came only hours before the club had been due to provide its final media briefing ahead of the meeting with Napoli. Arteta’s press conference was expected to form part of Arsenal’s normal preparations for the Champions League fixture, but the travel delay made it impossible for the event to go ahead as planned.

The UK’s National Air Traffic Services (NATS) issued an update on Tuesday afternoon, saying it had identified an issue with its “flight processing system”.

NATS added that “recovery will take some time”, although the organisation also said it had “implemented a solution”.

The disruption affected air travel across the UK during a key period of movement through the country’s airports. Arsenal were among those forced to adjust their plans, with the team remaining at London Colney until details of its revised journey to Italy were available.

The club’s video showing the squad boarding the aircraft indicated that the delayed trip had eventually been arranged. However, the disruption meant Arsenal’s planned press commitments before the Napoli match had to be abandoned.

Arteta and his players are due to face Napoli on Wednesday, with the London club’s preparations having been shaped by the unexpected aviation problems rather than their original schedule.