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| UK flight delays to continue due to phone glitch | UK flight delays to continue due to phone glitch |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A telephone glitch that caused hundreds of flights to be delayed will not be fixed before 1800 GMT, air traffic controllers have said. | A telephone glitch that caused hundreds of flights to be delayed will not be fixed before 1800 GMT, air traffic controllers have said. |
| Thousands of passengers are stranded in UK airports after the National Air Traffic Service (Nats) internal phone system broke down. | Thousands of passengers are stranded in UK airports after the National Air Traffic Service (Nats) internal phone system broke down. |
| Ryanair has called on the aviation regulator to intervene to prevent further disruption. | Ryanair has called on the aviation regulator to intervene to prevent further disruption. |
| Affected airports include Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Cardiff and Glasgow. | |
| A passenger who said he had been waiting five hours at London's Gatwick airport said people were "crying, distraught and angry". | A passenger who said he had been waiting five hours at London's Gatwick airport said people were "crying, distraught and angry". |
| "One passenger has missed their sister's wedding," Tom Flatman, from Brighton, told the BBC. | "One passenger has missed their sister's wedding," Tom Flatman, from Brighton, told the BBC. |
| By midday, air traffic controllers had dealt with 1,700 flights rather than the usual 2,000 on a normal Saturday. | By midday, air traffic controllers had dealt with 1,700 flights rather than the usual 2,000 on a normal Saturday. |
| 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. |
| Ryanair has 100 flights affected to and from the south of England, with 10 flights cancelled. It called on the Civil Aviation Authority to act. | Ryanair has 100 flights affected to and from the south of England, with 10 flights cancelled. It called on the Civil Aviation Authority to act. |
| "While we acknowledge problems can occur, where is the contingency? It's simply not good enough and the CAA needs to act now," it said in a statement. | "While we acknowledge problems can occur, where is the contingency? It's simply not good enough and the CAA needs to act now," it said in a statement. |
| Meanwhile: | Meanwhile: |
| Nats said the problem at its Swanwick centre, in Hampshire, arose in the early hours of Saturday morning when the night-time operation failed to properly switch over to the daytime system. | Nats said the problem at its Swanwick centre, in Hampshire, arose in the early hours of Saturday morning when the night-time operation failed to properly switch over to the daytime system. |
| "Because of the problem with the internal telephone system, it was not possible to open the additional control positions this morning, resulting in a significant reduction in capacity in some areas of UK en-route airspace," a spokeswoman said. | "Because of the problem with the internal telephone system, it was not possible to open the additional control positions this morning, resulting in a significant reduction in capacity in some areas of UK en-route airspace," a spokeswoman said. |
| "Safety has not been compromised at any time." | "Safety has not been compromised at any time." |
| It said the problem should be fixed by between 1800 GMT and 1900 GMT but delays are likely to continue later. | It said the problem should be fixed by between 1800 GMT and 1900 GMT but delays are likely to continue later. |
| 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. |
| The BBC's transport correspondent Richard Westcott said it was a totally different issue to a software problem that hit the control centre in summer. | The BBC's transport correspondent Richard Westcott said it was a totally different issue to a software problem that hit the control centre in summer. |
| The Nats spokeswoman added: "We now understand what the problem is and our engineers are working hard to rectify the issues as quickly as possible. | The Nats spokeswoman added: "We now understand what the problem is and our engineers are working hard to rectify the issues as quickly as possible. |
| "Everyone in our operation is continuing to work closely with our customers to manage the traffic and clear the backlog." | "Everyone in our operation is continuing to work closely with our customers to manage the traffic and clear the backlog." |
| 'Shambolic' | 'Shambolic' |
| 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. | 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, while 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 said there were "lots and lots of delays" at Stansted, while Heathrow Airport had "long delays" of up to 40 minutes in departures. | Travel reporter Simon Calder said there were "lots and lots of delays" at Stansted, while Heathrow Airport had "long delays" of up to 40 minutes in departures. |
| At Stansted, Alena Kontza's has been 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". | At Stansted, Alena Kontza's has been 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. | "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. |
| 'Backlog of planes' | 'Backlog of planes' |
| Independent aviation analyst Chris Yates said it was going to be a "day of frustrations". | 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. |
| "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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