Hundreds of flights in the UK have been cancelled due to a technical problem in the air traffic control system, and disruptions are expected to continue.
“Elchi” reports that thousands of passengers have been affected by the disruption. Flight tracking website FlightRadar24 reported that approximately 1,000 flights were cancelled due to a failure affecting Nats, the air traffic control service provider.
The company’s CEO, Martin Rolfe, apologized, noting that the problem took longer to resolve than expected, and announced that a thorough investigation into the incident would be launched.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has summoned Rolfe to a meeting. It was also stated that Alexander will emphasize in Parliament that the failure was not caused by a cyberattack.
Due to the limited number of aircraft allowed to fly, landing operations have also been restricted. This situation has also caused delays at airports abroad.
Due to the failure affecting airports in Scotland and Ireland, EasyJet cancelled 200 flights, and British Airways cancelled more than 100. Airlines such as Ryanair and Wizz Air demanded fundamental changes in air traffic management, claiming that the agency’s current structure is inadequate.
Parking spaces are full; flights have been diverted
Flights at Heathrow, one of Europe’s busiest airports, were temporarily suspended in the afternoon. As planes could not take off, parking spaces at the airport reached capacity, and 13 flights scheduled to land at Heathrow were diverted to various airports in the UK and Europe.
British Airways announced that more than 100 flights had been cancelled or diverted to other airports by Tuesday afternoon. The company stated that passengers whose flights were cancelled should not come to the airports. According to FlightRadar data, Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, and Birmingham airports were the most affected by the disruptions.
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