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| Version 6 | Version 7 |
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| UK flight delays glitch 'now fixed' but delays continue | UK flight delays glitch 'now fixed' but delays continue |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| A telephone glitch that caused hundreds of flights to be delayed has now been resolved, but disruption is continuing. | A telephone glitch that caused hundreds of flights to be delayed has now been resolved, but disruption is continuing. |
| Thousands of passengers faced cancellations and long waits after the National Air Traffic Service (Nats) internal phone system broke down. | Thousands of passengers faced cancellations and long waits after the National Air Traffic Service (Nats) internal phone system broke down. |
| Affected airports included Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Cardiff and Glasgow. | |
| Nats announced at 1930 GMT that the problem had been fixed, but some airports said delays could continue into Sunday. | |
| A passenger who said he had been waiting five hours at London's Gatwick airport earlier told the BBC that people had been "crying, distraught and angry". | |
| "One passenger has missed their sister's wedding," Tom Flatman, from Brighton, said. | |
| 'Severely delayed' | 'Severely delayed' |
| By 16:00 GMT Nats said it had handled 2,576 flights compared with 2,905 at the same time last week. | By 16:00 GMT Nats said it had handled 2,576 flights compared with 2,905 at the same time last week. |
| Ryanair said 300 of its flights were delayed on Saturday with 12 cancelled, and called on the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) to act. | |
| "While we acknowledge problems can occur, where is the contingency?" it said in a statement. | "While we acknowledge problems can occur, where is the contingency?" it said in a statement. |
| Heathrow had cancelled 228 flights by 18:55 GMT, a spokeswoman said, adding that there was now an average one-hour delay for departures. | Heathrow had cancelled 228 flights by 18:55 GMT, a spokeswoman said, adding that there was now an average one-hour delay for departures. |
| By Saturday evening Gatwick airport said it was "returning to normal operations". A spokeswoman said it was "not expecting serious disruption" on Sunday. | |
| Delays at Stansted averaged two to four hours, a spokeswoman for the airport said, adding that schedules were expected to return to normal on Sunday but warning there could be "minor delays". | |
| No Easyjet flights have yet been cancelled but many were subject to delays. | No Easyjet flights have yet been cancelled but many were subject to delays. |
| Eurocontrol - which manages European air safety - said around 1,300 flights, or 8% of all air traffic on the continent, had been "severely delayed". | Eurocontrol - which manages European air safety - said around 1,300 flights, or 8% of all air traffic on the continent, had been "severely delayed". |
| Meanwhile, elsewhere: | Meanwhile, elsewhere: |
| 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. |
| "The problem that arose this morning with the ground communications system in the area control operations room at Nats Swanwick has now been resolved and operations are returning to normal," a spokesman said. | "The problem that arose this morning with the ground communications system in the area control operations room at Nats Swanwick has now been resolved and operations are returning to normal," a spokesman said. |
| Biggest in Europe | Biggest in Europe |
| The software failure happened when the 23 controllers working overnight were due to hand over to the 125 on the day shift at around 06:00 GMT. | |
| "To be clear, this is a very complex and sophisticated system with more than a million lines of software," the spokesman added. | "To be clear, this is a very complex and sophisticated system with more than a million lines of software," the spokesman added. |
| "This is not simply internal telephones, it is the system that controllers use to speak to other [air traffic control] agencies both in the UK and Europe and is the biggest system of its kind in Europe." | "This is not simply internal telephones, it is the system that controllers use to speak to other [air traffic control] agencies both in the UK and Europe and is the biggest system of its kind in Europe." |
| 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. |
| Nats head of operations Juliet Kennedy told the BBC: "We want to apologise to people. We are very aware of how much inconvenience this has caused people." | Nats head of operations Juliet Kennedy told the BBC: "We want to apologise to people. We are very aware of how much inconvenience this has caused people." |
| 'Shambolic' | 'Shambolic' |
| The CAA advised customers affected to contact the airline concerned to discuss their case. | The CAA advised customers affected to contact the airline concerned to discuss their case. |
| It pointed out that customers could claim assistance from their airline if they were delayed for several hours, including being given food and drink, usually in vouchers. | It pointed out that customers could claim assistance from their airline if they were delayed for several hours, including being given food and drink, usually in vouchers. |
| At Stansted, Alena Kontza was stuck on a Ryanair plane that had been delayed for three hours. She told the BBC passengers had been given "absolutely no information" and "it's been nothing less than shambolic". | At Stansted, Alena Kontza was stuck on a Ryanair plane that had been delayed for three hours. She told the BBC passengers had been given "absolutely no information" and "it's 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. |
| A spokeswoman for British Airways said: "We are organising hotels for customers when appropriate. In addition, customers on cancelled services of course have the opportunity to claim a refund or rebook." | A spokeswoman for British Airways said: "We are organising hotels for customers when appropriate. In addition, customers on cancelled services of course have the opportunity to claim a refund or rebook." |
| Independent aviation analyst Chris Yates said it had been a "trying and a very tough day", adding: "There's going to be a lot of hard questions asked of Nats over the coming days. | Independent aviation analyst Chris Yates said it had been a "trying and a very tough day", adding: "There's going to be a lot of hard questions asked of Nats over the coming days. |
| "In the meantime we have to get back to a normal service." | "In the meantime we have to get back to a normal service." |
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