UK flight delays: trafiic management restored however transport secretary warns of continued disruption – stay updates

Nationwide air site visitors companies, or Nats, has simply confirmed that “our systems are fully operational and air traffic capacity is returning to normal.”

It added:

“Departures in any respect airports have resumed and we’re working with affected airways and airports to clear the backlog safely.

We apologise to everybody affected by this problem.”

UK transport secretary Heidi Alexander says in a put up on X that she believes the site visitors management programs “have now been restored,” though she warns about “continued disruption … expected.”

“I’m conscious of a technical problem which impacted @NATS operations inflicting journey disruption this afternoon.

I’ve been knowledgeable programs have now been restored however continued disruption is predicted, and passengers ought to test with particular person airports for recommendation.”

Edinburgh Airport simply confirmed its departures have additionally resumed, however added that the disruption “will take time to work through”.

Extra flights are actually taking off from airports that beforehand reported being affected by the disruption, with American Airways’ AAL137 to Los Angeles departing with a delay of simply over two hours from London Heathrow simply moments in the past.

UK Civil Aviation Authority is actively directing passengers to its steerage for passengers affected by delays, saying “remember that you have passenger rights if this happens.”

London Gatwick airport has now reported that the difficulty impacting outbound flights “has now been resolved,” however warned that “there are some delays at London Gatwick while operations resume.”

Flightradar24 knowledge is now displaying first flights departing from airports that beforehand reported disruptions, with British Airways SHT8W flight from London Heathrow Airport to Edinburgh taking off a second in the past, with about 55 minutes delay.

Again in 2023, a earlier glitch affecting Nats, the corporate that gives nationwide air site visitors management companies within the UK, meant the system was out of motion for a number of hours inflicting disruption to greater than 700,000 passengers.

Right here is what we find out about what occurred in 2023:

There was additionally the same outage at Nats nationwide centre in Swanwick, Hampshire in 2014, that resulted in dozens of flights being cancelled and delayed.

The dimensions of the disruption attributable to the outage is but to turn out to be clear, however it’s price remembering that that is taking place throughout what’s a really busy summer time interval, and so might have knock on results on what’s often an already very tight flight schedule.

We now have an additional replace from Nats, saying it has restored the system affected by the outage and can work with airways to minimise disruption induced.

Right here is their assertion:

“Our engineers have now restored the system that was affected this afternoon. We’re within the technique of resuming regular operations within the London space.

We proceed to work carefully with airline and airport prospects to minimise disruption. We apologise for any inconvenience this has induced.”

Edinburgh Airport has now reported being affected by the technical outage too.

In a put up on X, it mentioned:

“Due to a technical issue impacting NATS, all departures from Edinburgh Airport are currently being held. We are waiting for further information from NATS and will provide updates when possible. Please check with your airline for the latest information on your flight.”

Flightradar24 monitoring service reported earlier that “as per Eurocontrol, technical issues have closed the London CTA, affecting flights across the southern UK.”

UK flights within the London space are affected by delays after Nats, the UK air site visitors management authority, mentioned it was limiting flights on account of a “technical issue” at NATS Swanwick air site visitors management centre “in order to ensure safety, which is always our first priority.”

In a press release on social media, it added:

“Our engineers are working onerous to resolve the issue as rapidly as potential and we’re working carefully with airways to assist minimise disruption.

At this stage we can not say how lengthy will probably be earlier than operations are again to regular.”

Gatwick Airport reported affect on all outbound flights throughout the UK, whereas London Metropolis Airport mentioned “flights in and out of London airports – including London City Airport – might be delayed or subject to cancellation.”