An emergency alert will be sent to devices at 3pm this afternoon
Manchester airport has issued an important reminder to people travelling between 3pm and 3.20pm this afternoon. The government will be sending a test emergency alerts to millions of phones and devices across the UK.
The emergency alert will be at 3pm this afternoon, Sunday, September 7. The Government is running a national test of the Emergency Alerts system. In an actual emergency, mobile phone masts in the surrounding area will broadcast an alert.
When you receive the alert, your mobile phone or tablet may make a loud siren noise, vibrate or read the message out loud. The siren noise will typical last for a total of 10 seconds and the sound will be accompanied by a text message sent by Gov.uk.
On X, formerly known as Twitter, Manchester Airport has reminded travellers no action will need to be taken. The airport posted: “The UK government is testing the Emergency Alerts system on Sunday 7 September 2025 at 3pm.
“Compatible mobile phones and tablets will receive an alert, make a loud siren-like sound and vibrate. You will not need to take any action. Passengers whose flight arrives between 3pm and 3:20pm may receive the alert as soon as they turn off flight mode on their phone.”
People have been encouraged to “keep their cool” for a test of the national emergency alert system. It will mark the second test of the system – after the first in 2023.
The Government has used the system to issue real warnings five times, including in January during Storm Eowyn to warn people in Scotland and Northern Ireland about severe weather.
Approximately 3.5 million people across Wales and south-west England received an alert during Storm Darragh last December. A 500kg unexploded World War II bomb found in a Plymouth back garden triggered a warning to some 50,000 phones in February last year. Messages can be targeted to relatively small areas to pinpoint those at risk.
Around 15,000 phones were alerted during flooding in Cumbria in May 2024, and 10,000 received a warning during flooding in Leicestershire in January this year.
Pat McFadden, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, said: “I know Brits will keep their cool when phones across the UK make a siren-like noise today (Sunday) at 3pm. It’s important to remember this is only a test, just like the fire drills we all do in our schools and workplaces.
“We’re carrying out the test to make sure the system works well when we need it most, and afterwards, we’ll work with mobile network operators to assess performance.
“The test takes just 10 seconds but it helps us keep the country safe 24 hours a day, 365 days a year.”
Some devices will not receive the alert, this can be because of its model or for other reasons including connection faults. The emergency alert system works by using phone masts to ping all compatible mobile phones within their range.
Only those in range of phone masts will receive the alert, that means that anyone who is out of the country will not get the alert, only those who are within range of a mobile phone mast in the UK will.
Some of the reasons why you may not receive the alert includes your device being switched off, connected to 2g or 3g, using a Wi-Fi-only device and having a phone that is not compatible.
Other phones that do not run iOS or Android may also receive alerts. However, if your phone is on Airplane mode when the alert is sent you may not get it.
You can follow our lives updates for the test emergency alert here.
