Passengers experience severe delays after technical fault in UK air traffic control
Passengers have been told to expect delays of up to 12 hours after air traffic controllers across the UK experienced a technical fault.
In an updated statement this afternoon, the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) said the “technical issue” affecting its flight planning system had been “identified and remedied”, but travellers continued to face disruption.
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“We are now working closely with airlines and airports to manage the flights affected as efficiently as possible,” NATS said.
“Our engineers will be carefully monitoring the system’s performance as we return to normal operations.
“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.”
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NATS did not give an estimate of how long it would take to fix the problem, or what had caused it.
Transport Secretary Mark Harper said the “technical issue” affecting the National Air Traffic Services “has now been resolved”.
On a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, he said that he and aviation minister Charlotte Vere were “continuing to work with NATS to help them manage affected flights and support passengers”.
“All passengers should still contact their airline for specific flight information.”
European air traffic authority Eurocontrol and Irish air traffic controllers AirNav Ireland have both warned of significant delays across Europe.
The Liberal Democrats have called on the government to hold an urgent COBRA meeting, while the Labour‘s shadow transport secretary said the fault was “extremely concerning”.
Some 3,049 flights were due to depart from UK airports today and another 3,054 flights were scheduled to arrive – with around one million passengers on board.
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‘Air traffic failure will be absolute chaos’
Travellers have been told to expect severe delays of up to 12 hours.
BBC presenter Gabby Logan said she had been caught up by the issue.
She posted on X, formerly known as Twitter: “On a plane on the runway at Budapest airport. After almost three weeks away from home I am hours from hugging my family.
“And have just been told UK airspace is shut. We could be here for 12 hours. So we sit on the plane and wait.”
The departures board at Bristol Airport showing delayed flights Pic: Simon West
Sky’s science correspondent Thomas Moore is one of the passengers stuck on a British Airways flight at Heathrow after flying back from San Francisco overnight.
Speaking from the plane, he said the aircraft actually landed ahead of the schedule – but since then they have been stuck on the tarmac.
“The pilots told us that we are in a queue for a gate because all the aircraft giving priority to land can’t get away, so everything is stacking up now,” he said.
The departures board in Barcelona airport showing flights to the UK cancelled or delayed Pic: Brad Sutton
“We have an update saying that they’re trying to find space for all the aircraft that are coming in and having to wait, having to queue, because this is going to have a big impact.
“There are planes taking off, but what we are being told is that various aspects of computerised systems used by air traffic control aren’t talking to each to other, so everything is having to be done manually.
“That means things are taking a lot longer than they would be.
“Normally this would be one of the busiest runways in the world, but it is looking very, very quiet.”
Passengers on a flight from Lanzarote to Newcastle who have been delayed by two hours so far
Sky News producer Georgia Ziebart, who is stuck on a plane in Palma, Majorca that is set for London Gatwick, said passengers have been told all planes that were in the air at the time the systems went down have been diverted to other countries.
She said: “We’re on the tarmac in Palma, Majorca – we got on the plane an hour ago and shortly after we got on the plane, the pilot made an announcement to say it doesn’t look like we’ll be leaving for a while because there are issues with air traffic control across the whole of the UK.
“We’ve been sat on the plane now for about an hour, still haven’t moved, still haven’t had much information. But staff just said there’s no point in us moving because we can’t actually go anywhere.
“There are people who have been sleeping at the airport since yesterday so it’s completely at capacity inside as well.
“There’s a lot of children on board here, a lot of babies. It’s a three-hour flight. I haven’t got any food. They’ve come around and offered water to everyone but that’s it at the moment.”
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‘We’ve been stuck on a runway for an hour’
Airports and airlines have warned customers that they may experience delays and urged those travelling today to check their flight details.
Ryanair and Aer Lingus were the first airlines to confirm several flight cancellations to and from Dublin and Cork airports.
A view of NATS air traffic control at London City Airport
British Airways said it was “working closely with NATS to understand the impact of a technical issue that is affecting UK airspace, and will keep our customers up to date with the latest information”.
The Eurostar said it would add an extra train from Paris to London at 8.43pm this evening after the airline disruption.
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‘No evidence’ malign activity caused Wednesday’s air traffic disruption, says transport secretary
There is no evidence that malign activity was responsible for yesterday’s outage of air traffic control systems, the transport secretary has said.
Heidi Alexander said she has spoken with the chief executive of National Air Traffic Service (NATS), Martin Rolfe, and added that what happened was an isolated incident.
NATS has apologised for the IT problems after thousands of passengers suffered extensive travel disruption during one of the busiest times of the year.
The technical glitch led to more than 150 flight cancellations, leaving airlines reacting furiously.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander
Ms Alexander wrote on X: “I have spoken with NATS CEO Martin Rolfe who provided further detail on yesterday’s technical fault.
“This was an isolated event and there is no evidence of malign activity.
“I know that any disruption is frustrating for passengers.
“Flights are now resumed and I am grateful to airlines who are working hard to get people to where they need to be.
“I will continue to receive regular updates. Passengers should check with airlines before travelling.”
Read more: Flight delayed or cancelled? These are your rights
Officials said a “radar-related issue” caused the air traffic control failure.
A spokesperson for NATS said: “This was a radar-related issue which was resolved by quickly switching to the back-up system during which time we reduced traffic to ensure safety.
“There is no evidence that this was cyber related.”
The problem occurred at NATS’ control centre in Swanwick, Hampshire, and affected the vast majority of England and Wales.
Aviation analytics company Cirium said 84 departures and 71 arrivals were cancelled to or from UK airports up to 10pm on Wednesday, with several flights diverted to other European airports.
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Travel expert Paul Charles: This is a major outage
There was limited disruption on Thursday, with a handful of British Airways flights cancelled because aircraft and crew were out of position.
Heathrow and Gatwick airports said they had resumed normal operations.
Affected passengers are unlikely to be entitled to compensation as the disruption was outside of airlines’ control, but they will be able to claim expenses for a reasonable amount of food and drink, a means to communicate and overnight accommodation if required.
Martin Rolfe in 2023. Pic: PA
Ryanair has called on Mr Rolfe to resign, claiming “no lessons have been learnt” since a similar systems outage in August 2023.
The airline’s chief operating officer Neal McMahon said: “It is outrageous that passengers are once again being hit with delays and disruption due to Martin Rolfe’s continued mismanagement of Nats.”
Airlines have reacted furiously after a technical glitch in air traffic control systems led to more than 150 flight cancellations.
The National Air Traffic Service (NATS) has apologised for the IT problems – and said systems were back up and running 20 minutes after the “radar-related issue” was detected at 4.05pm.
But with thousands of passengers suffering extensive travel disruption, during one of the busiest times of the year, airline executives have warned this isn’t good enough.
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Departures resume after ATC problem
Ryanair’s chief operating officer Neal McMahon has called for NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign – and claimed Wednesday’s incident was “utterly unacceptable”.
He said: “It is outrageous that passengers are once again being hit with delays and disruption due to Martin Rolfe’s continued mismanagement of NATS.
“It is clear that no lessons have been learnt since the August 2023 NATS system outage, and passengers continue to suffer as a result of Martin Rolfe’s incompetence.”
Mr McMahon was referring to a glitch that affected more than 700,000 passengers two years ago – and said that, if Mr Rolfe refuses to step down, the government should intervene.
“Heidi Alexander must act without delay to remove Martin Rolfe and deliver urgent reform of NATS’ shambolic ATC service, so that airlines and passengers are no longer forced to endure these preventable delays caused by persistent NATS failures,” he added.
The Department for Transport says Ms Alexander does not have any direct control over NATS – and no powers over staffing decisions at the service.
Martin Rolfe in 2023. Pic: PA
EasyJet’s chief operating officer David Morgan added: “It’s extremely disappointing to see an ATC failure once again causing disruption to our customers at this busy and important time of year for travel.
“While our priority today is supporting our customers, we will want to understand from NATS what steps they are taking to ensure issues don’t continue.”
NATS is yet to comment on the calls for Mr Rolfe’s resignation – but has stressed that the glitch is not believed to be “cyber related”.
“This was a radar-related issue which was resolved by quickly switching to the back-up system during which time we reduced traffic to ensure safety,” a spokesperson had said.
Departures at airports across the country have now resumed – but passengers are being urged to check with their airline before heading to terminals.
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Travel expert: This is a major outage
John Carr, from Stourbridge, was on his way from Heathrow to Norway to help arrange his brother’s wedding when he discovered his flight was cancelled after checking in.
“I’m pretty gutted,” he said. “We’ve got loads of stuff in the suitcases to set up the venue, because we’re obviously flying to Norway. We’ve got the wedding rehearsal to do. It’s quite stressful.”
Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey called for an urgent investigation and also referred to the “utterly unacceptable” disruption two years earlier.
“With thousands of families preparing to go on a well-earned break, this just isn’t good enough. The public deserve to have full confidence in such a vital piece of national infrastructure.”
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Flights departing or arriving at a UK airport, or aircraft operated by a UK airline arriving in the EU, are subject to rules concerning delays or cancellations.
Airlines may have to provide compensation, although there are exemptions for “extraordinary circumstances”, according to the UK’s Civil Aviation Authority.
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