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UK flights disrupted by air traffic control glitch Calls for UK air traffic control boss to resign as new glitch disrupts flights
(about 2 hours later)
Nats apologises to passengers after flights suspended at several airports including Gatwick and Birmingham System restored after Nats limited flights due to technical problems that raised fears of repeat of chaos in August 2023
UK flight disruption – latest newsUK flight disruption – latest news
Flights across the UK have been disrupted after the air traffic control provider Nats experienced a technical problem. The head of the UK’s air traffic control company is facing calls to resign after the second disruption to flights in two years due to technical problems.
Nats apologised to passengers for the problem, which has led to flights being suspended at a number of airports including Gatwick and Birmingham at the height of the holiday season. Hundreds of flights were delayed after the air traffic control (ATC) system went down for about 20 minutes on Wednesday.
The company said it was limiting the number of aircraft flying in the London control area. The technical problem relates to Nats’ control centre in Swanwick, Hampshire. Nats, the company that runs the system, blamed a technical problem and said it had now been resolved. The problems raised fears of a repeat of chaos at airports in August 2023 when hundreds of thousands of passengers’ flights were delayed or cancelled.
Gatwick airport said the problem was affecting all outbound flights across the UK, while Birmingham airport said departing flights from many UK airports had been suspended. British Airways said it was forced to restrict the number of its inbound and outbound flights at Heathrow to 32 an hour until 7.15pm. It said the flow rate would then return to the usual level of 45 an hour.
Several flights scheduled to arrive at UK airports were being forced to conduct holding patterns or divert. It is understood that the UK National Cyber Security Centre does not view it as a hacking incident.
In August 2023, more than 700,000 passengers experienced disruption when flights were grounded at UK airports when Nats was hit by a technical glitch while processing a flight plan. Ryanair called for the Nats chief executive, Martin Rolfe, to resign or be fired. 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.
Nats said on Wednesday: “As a result of a technical issue at Nats’ Swanwick air traffic control centre, we are limiting the number of aircraft flying in the London control area in order to ensure safety, which is always our first priority. “Yet another ATC system failure has resulted in the closure of UK airspace meaning thousands of passengers’ travel plans have been disrupted. It is clear that no lessons have been learned since the August 2023 Nats system outage, and passengers continue to suffer as a result of Martin Rolfe’s incompetence.”
“We apologise for any delays this may cause. Our engineers are working hard to resolve the problem as quickly as possible and we are working closely with airlines to help minimise disruption. He said if Rolfe failed to resign then the transport secretary, 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”.
“At this stage we cannot say how long it will be before operations are back to normal. Please check with your airline on the status of your flight.” At about 5pm Nats said its engineers had “restored the system that was affected” and it was “in the process of resuming normal operations”.
Gatwick said: “There are currently no departures from London Gatwick while the situation is being resolved. We are working with Nats to resume flights as quickly as possible. Inbound flights are still landing at the airport. Passengers should check the status of their flights with their airline.” The technical issue affected flights across the UK as the number of aircraft that could fly in England and Wales was restricted, the company said.
The problem left many aircraft and flight crew out of position. Airports advised passengers to check with airlines for updates. Liverpool’s John Lennon airport said that Wednesday’s remaining flights could face delays.
Several flights scheduled to arrive at UK airports were required to fly in holding patterns or divert elsewhere. Nats said the technical issue was at its control centre in Swanwick, Hampshire.
Alexander said: “I am aware of a technical issue which impacted Nats’ operations causing travel disruption this afternoon. I have been informed systems have now been restored but continued disruption is expected, and passengers should check with individual airports for advice.”
More than 700,000 passengers suffered disruption when flights were grounded at UK airports on 28 August 2023 after Nats experienced a technical glitch while processing a flight plan.