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UK airports hit by flight delays after technical fault UK airports hit by flight delays after technical fault
(about 1 hour later)
Flights are being delayed across the UK and Ireland because of an air traffic control centre fault.Flights are being delayed across the UK and Ireland because of an air traffic control centre fault.
Affected airports include Heathrow, Stansted, Cardiff, Dublin, and Glasgow.Affected airports include Heathrow, Stansted, Cardiff, Dublin, and Glasgow.
The National Air Traffic Control Service (Nats) said its Swanwick centre, in Hampshire, was having "difficulty switching from night time to daytime operation".The National Air Traffic Control Service (Nats) said its Swanwick centre, in Hampshire, was having "difficulty switching from night time to daytime operation".
It said the problem will not be fixed until between 1800 GMT and 1900 GMT with delays likely to continue beyond.
Operations director Juliet Kennedy told the BBC she did not think the problem had happened before.Operations director Juliet Kennedy told the BBC she did not think the problem had happened before.
"We don't at the moment know how long it is going to take to resolve," she said. BBC transport correspondent Richard Westcott said Nats' internal phone system had broken down, which "meant controllers in the same room as each other couldn't pass on important data to each other".
However, she was confident Nats engineers would be able to fix the problem on Saturday. He said it was a totally different issue to the software problem Nats suffered earlier this summer.
The Association of British Travel Agents said it was told problems would persist until at least 14:00 GMT while airline Ryanair said the air traffic control issues would continue until at least 16:00 GMT "affecting certain flights". At midday, air traffic controllers had dealt with 1,700 flights rather than the usual 2,000 on a normal Saturday.
Belfast, Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Southampton, Luton, London City, Newcastle, Exeter, Bournemouth and other airports have also reported delays and are asking passengers to check with their airlines.
Heathrow had cancelled 60 flights by 09:45 GMT, with these split between arrivals and departures.Heathrow had cancelled 60 flights by 09:45 GMT, with these split between arrivals and departures.
A spokeswoman said: "Due to a technical issue with air traffic control, flights from many UK airports, including Heathrow, are subject to delay and cancellation." Belfast, Edinburgh, Manchester, Birmingham, Southampton, Luton, London City, Newcastle, Exeter and Bournemouth are among other airports that have reported delays, asking passengers to check with their airlines.
Stansted Airport said flights were subject to delays. Gatwick said 20% of its departures had been delayed, with passengers being warned they may have to wait for "a couple of hours". Stansted Airport said flights were subject to delays, while Gatwick said 20% of its departures had been delayed, with passengers being warned they may have to wait for "a couple of hours".
Travel reporter Simon Calder told BBC Breakfast: "It is a pretty grim start to the weekend for air travellers." In other developments:
He warned early morning delays could lead to cancellations later in the day. Travel reporter Simon Calder told BBC Breakfast early morning delays could lead to cancellations later in the day.
He said there were "lots and lots of delays" at Stansted, while Heathrow Airport had "long delays" of up to 40 minutes in departures.He said there were "lots and lots of delays" at Stansted, while Heathrow Airport had "long delays" of up to 40 minutes in departures.
Ms Kennedy said the problem is capacity, as the control centre is still running a reduced night time service.Ms Kennedy said the problem is capacity, as the control centre is still running a reduced night time service.
She said: "We just can't manage as many flights as normal," adding that it is up to individual airlines to prioritise who goes where.She said: "We just can't manage as many flights as normal," adding that it is up to individual airlines to prioritise who goes where.
'Unholy mess' At Stansted, Alena Kontza's is stuck on a Ryanair plane that has been delayed for three hours. She told the BBC passengers had been given "absolutely no information" and "it had been nothing less than shambolic".
"People are really aggravated, children are crying, people want to leave, people want to change to different planes, it's an absolute nightmare," she said.
William Paton, from London, has been delayed at Heathrow. He told the BBC: "Having been on a cancelled flight to Aberdeen from City last night, I was put onto a red eye this morning... and am still on it, with delays of four hours estimated, according to the captain."William Paton, from London, has been delayed at Heathrow. He told the BBC: "Having been on a cancelled flight to Aberdeen from City last night, I was put onto a red eye this morning... and am still on it, with delays of four hours estimated, according to the captain."
At Stansted, Alena Kontza's flight has been delayed for three hours. She told the BBC many flights were delayed and yet no one had explained to passengers the reason for the delay.
"There's an elderly couple behind me and they think it's weather related - they are worried they might get stuck in a storm," she said.
"I'm in the departure lounge where people are quite aggravated - they don't know what the problem is. That's what drives me insane, I'm sitting here on my iPad and I know what the problem is but no one has said anything."
'Backlog of planes''Backlog of planes'
Nats has explained that its Swanwick control centre experienced a technical problem in the early hours of Saturday morning. Nats said the technical problem at its Swanwick control centre started in the early hours of Saturday morning.
It said in a statement: "At night, when it's quiet, we can combine sectors of airspace. When it gets busy in the daytime we split the sectors out again. The voice communications system is configured to enable this to happen."It said in a statement: "At night, when it's quiet, we can combine sectors of airspace. When it gets busy in the daytime we split the sectors out again. The voice communications system is configured to enable this to happen."
It said the glitch on Saturday morning meant it had not been possible to reconfigure the voice communications system to split out the sectors for the daytime traffic in some areas of the UK airspace. It said the glitch meant it had not been possible to reconfigure the voice communications system to split out the sectors for the daytime traffic in some areas of the UK airspace.
NATS added: "Engineers are working to rectify the problem as soon as possible but this is resulting in some delays. Safety has not been compromised at any time, and we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience being caused to passengers." "Safety has not been compromised at any time, and we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience being caused to passengers," it added.
Independent aviation analyst Chris Yates said: "It's going to be a day of frustrations and the knock-on effects are going to last for the whole day because of the backlog of planes. Independent aviation analyst Chris Yates said it was going to be a "day of frustrations".
He said that passengers due to arrive at UK airports from overseas could find themselves diverted elsewhere.He said that passengers due to arrive at UK airports from overseas could find themselves diverted elsewhere.
"There are contingency plans in place whenever this happens," he said. "Many of the long-haul flights, coming from China, India, the US and so on, passengers sitting on those planes may find themselves diverted to continental airports.
"But it's going to be a long wait for them. When the system kicks back in and starts working, there will be a backlog of flights."But it's going to be a long wait for them. When the system kicks back in and starts working, there will be a backlog of flights.
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