Last Updated: August 28, 2023, 22:56 IST
London, United Kingdom (UK)
UK air traffic controllers face technical fault causing delays. (Representative image: PTI)
UK air traffic controllers face technical fault causing delays, with network-wide failure reported by an airline. Passengers affected globally
Air traffic control systems in the UK were hit with a technical glitch, causing widespread disruptions around the country, including a “network-wide failure.”
Thousands of passengers bound for UK airports remained stranded as hundreds of flights were cancelled. However, National Air Traffic Services (NATS), responsible for air traffic control in the UK, said the issue has been”identified and remedied”,
The UK’s National Air Traffic Services (NATS), which had “applied traffic flow restrictions to maintain safety” across UK airports, apologised for the disruption caused by issues in its flight planning system which was affecting its “ability to automatically process flight plans”.
It explained that the flight planning issue affected the system’s ability to automatically process flight plans, meaning that flight plans had to be processed manually which cannot be done at the same volume, hence the requirement for traffic flow restrictions.
“Our priority is always to ensure that every flight in the UK remains safe and we are sincerely sorry for the disruption this is causing. Please contact your airline for information on how this may affect your flight,” it added.
#BreakingNews | U.K. Air Traffic Control System fails leading to delay in a lot of flights to land @sanjaysuri88 shares more details
The NATS stated that engineers are actively addressing the issue to identify and rectify the fault. It also apologized for the inconvenience caused to passengers. “We are continuing to work hard to resolve the technical issue. To clarify, UK airspace is not closed; we have had to apply air traffic flow restrictions to ensure safety,” the statement added.
Posting a message through X, Scottish airline Loganair confirmed that the air traffic control computer systems are experiencing a widespread breakdown.
There has been a network-wide failure of UK air traffic control computer systems this morning. Although we are hopeful of being able to operate most intra-Scotland flights on the basis of local coordination and with a minimum of disruption, north-south and international flights— Loganair (@FlyLoganair) August 28, 2023
Additionally, European air traffic authority warned of “very high” delays because of a “flight data processing system failure” in the UK.
The NATS describes itself as the country’s leading provider of air traffic control services, which handles 2.5 million flights and 250 million passengers in a “normal year”.
Meanwhile, airlines and airports have continued to warn of “widespread disruption” while systems get back up and running as normal. Some travellers were forced to sit inside a plane for hours, while others have been stuck inside airports.
British Airways and several other airlines said it has made “significant changes” to its flight schedule due to the earlier air traffic control issue.
“The technical issue which limited UK air traffic earlier today has been fixed by NATS. However, schedules will remain significantly disrupted for the rest of the day. We ask passengers to only travel to the airport if their flight is confirmed as still operating,” Heathrow Airport said.
“Teams across Heathrow are working as hard as they can to minimise the knock on impacts and assist those whose journeys have been affected,” it said.
An estimated 500 flights are believed to have been cancelled as a result of the glitch, which will continue to cause chaos at UK airports for days to come. Luton, Stansted, Gatwick and Manchester airports all reported problems.
Airlines including Ryanair, EasyJet, Wizz Air, Loganair and Aer Lingus had all warned passengers of delays or cancellations to flights and will now be working to try and cover the backlog.
(With PTI inputs)
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