United Kingdom air traffic control networks have had a “technical issue” causing thousands of flight cancellations.
The National Aviation Traffic Services reported that it was having “technical difficulties” and had to implement traffic flow limitations in order to keep everyone safe.
Engineers are hard at work trying to locate and correct the issue. Please accept our sincere apologies for the trouble that this may create.
They did not offer any additional information regarding what led to it or how much it would take to fix it.
NATS claimed in a subsequent press release that the United Kingdom’s airspace wasn’t closed off, but that they had to implement air traffic flow limitations to guarantee that they could continue to keep everyone safe.
Passengers have been cautioned that there is a possibility of flight delays by a number of airports located throughout the UK as well as by a number of airlines, including Ryanair, EasyJet, Loganair, and Aer Lingus.
According to Alastair Rosenschein, a previous pilot for British Airways who currently works as an aviation consultant, the interruption has been described as “huge.” He added that the situation is comparable to what would happen to automobile traffic if all of the roads in the country were stopped.
According to what he said on BBC Radio 5 Live, the situation is pretty much a nightmare.
Alex Murray, a journalist for the BBC, stated that he was planning to travel from Bari, Italia to the United Kingdom; however, passengers were informed of an “unknown delay” owing to an issue with air traffic management in London.
According to him, they were informed that they should prepare for delays of almost six hours.
He stated that at the present time, we have yet to find out if we will be disembarking prior to our scheduled departure time.
Gabby Logan, a broadcaster, announced on X, which was then known as Twitter, that she’d gotten on a plane at an airfield at Budapest airport and had “just received notification that UK airspace is closed.” She added that “we might be waiting for 12 hours.”
She stated that the landing of aviation traffic that had been already in flight was being permitted, but no new flights were being allowed to take off.
According to Simon Calder, a travel reporter, aircraft continue slowly touching down, but the “acceleration rate” at which planes can land is being drastically lowered. This means that fewer aircraft can land in the same amount of time.
According to him, Bank Holidays Monday ranks as one of the busiest times of the year since many people return after long weekends spent traveling outside of the country. Furthermore, he stated that London Gatwick Airport in the United Kingdom is the largest airport throughout the entire globe.
According to him, there is no way to tell when it will be fixed, and he said that it seems like the officials do not know at this moment what created the problem or the best way to fix it.
He expressed his concern that a significant number of individuals might awake the next day in circumstances in which they did not wish to be.
The Scottish airline Loganair reported on X that there existed a malfunction of the network-wide computer systems that handle UK air traffic, and the company warned that some flights may experience delays.
Aer Lingus recommends travelers check their departure status before traveling to the terminal as cancellations and postponements are expected. British Airways stated that it was collaborating with NATS to “better comprehend the impact” of the issue and that it was going to keep customers informed. British Airways also stated that it will keep passengers updated.
Emmet Lyons, a reporter for BBC’s US affiliate CBS News, stated that EasyJet had provided him with an update while he was aboard a jet sitting on the runway in Spain.
The airline reported that the problem with the air traffic controller was now affecting all flights that were scheduled to travel into or out of the territory of the United Kingdom.
PA news agency was notified by passengers of Ryanair who were at Stansted that they had been instructed to remain at their terminal until another announcement.
Airport spokespeople at London Luton, Stansted, Heathrow, and Gatwick have all confirmed that the airports are having problems and have asked passengers to get in touch with their respective airlines. Both Edinburgh Airport and John Lennon Airport Liverpool have informed passengers that there is a possibility that some of their flights will be delayed, and Edinburgh Airport has encouraged customers to make inquiries with their airline before heading to the airport.
According to a statement provided to BBC News by Dublin Airport, flights arriving at and departing from the airport are experiencing delays and cancellations as a direct result of the problems with air traffic management in the United Kingdom.