Stansted passengers face delays after technical fault grounds flights

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/10/stansted-airport-delays-technical-fault

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Passengers at Stansted faced possible delays and cancellations as air traffic engineers worked to fix a problem with equipment that stopped planes from landing at the Essex airport earlier on Tuesday.

Flights were operating normally as visibility was sufficient for pilots to land by sight, after morning fog cleared. But some planes were diverted to other airports, meaning later departure schedules could also be disrupted.

Stansted said engineers from National Air Traffic Services (Nats), the air traffic control service, have still to remedy the equipment fault. The reason for the failure of the instrument landing systems is unclear, but Stansted believes they were damaged by an inbound Gulfstream G550 business jet.

A spokesman for Stansted said: "As a result of this incident and low visibility there have been restrictions on arriving flights. However, the fog has now lifted and arriving flights are now being accepted. Departing flights are unaffected at this time but there could be delays and cancellations later in the day as a result of the earlier disruption to inbound aircraft.

"Nats, who are responsible for the operation and maintenance of the ILS equipment, have engineers on site and are currently working to the resolve the issue and return the airfield to normal operations as quickly as possible."

Stansted warned flights would be subject to delay and cancellations and advised passengers to check their airline's website.

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