Flights were disrupted across Britain again today because of another air traffic control centre ‘technical issue’ – prompting more travel misery for stranded passengers.
Airports across Scotland and northern England including Manchester and Glasgow were worst affected, but disruption was also reported at London City and Belfast.
It comes two weeks after an air traffic control issue on September 8 led to more than 2,000 flights being cancelled at airports including London Heathrow and Gatwick.
Ryanair criticised ‘yet another NATS air traffic control IT equipment failure’ today, while EasyJet said the issue ‘calls into question the resilience of NATS’s systems’.
British Airways called the failure ‘disappointing’ and warned of disruption, while Jet2 said customers and airlines need ‘action, accountability and proper resilience’.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander acknowledged how ‘deeply frustrating’ the outage would be for passengers but confirmed it had been fixed by engineers.
Manchester, Edinburgh, Belfast International and Belfast City airports saw the most cancellations or flights noted as ‘no fly’ this morning – meaning they had been delayed for more than three hours, according to aviation analytics company Cirium.
It said that as 10am today, Manchester, Belfast International and Belfast City airports had each seen four flights cancelled or no flies, whilst Edinburgh had seen three.
NATS (National Air Traffic Services) claimed the delays were ‘unrelated to the issue two weeks ago’, when 330,000 passengers were impacted by a software defect.
But the latest issues have piled further pressure on under-fire Nats chief executive Martin Rolfe who has already faced mountain calls to resign after the last outage.
Conservative MP Ben Obese-Jecty, the shadow minister for defence procurement, said: ‘Whether our air traffic control is hopelessly flawed or being actively targeted by hostile states it’s clear that NATS is currently a huge vulnerability to the UK.
‘The Burnham Government talks a good game on national resilience but the reality is that it has done nothing to ensure our key national infrastructure is robust in the face of existing and emerging threats.’
Lewis Fraser, a passenger from Inverness, said he was stuck on the runway at Glasgow Airport – and faced missing a connection from Heathrow to Chicago.
Queues build up at Manchester Airport this morning after an another air traffic control problem
Passengers wait to take off on an easyJet flight this morning as services are delayed again
He told BBC News: ‘We boarded the flight as normal but were immediately told we were delayed. The latest update was around half an hour ago to say we might be waiting another hour and 45 minutes.’
‘Some passengers have left the plane in the last few minutes. I’m on the 8am to Heathrow and due to fly to Chicago for work at 12:15 but that now looks unlikely… they’ve given us tea and snacks.’
A NATS spokesman said: ‘Early this morning, we experienced a technical issue at our Prestwick centre in Scotland. To maintain safety, air traffic regulations were applied to manage traffic demand while our engineers investigated.
‘The issue has now been fixed and we are working closely with airports and airlines to safely remove the remaining air traffic restrictions as quickly as possible to minimise any further disruption.
‘This was a connectivity issue with part of our systems network, specific to the operation in Scotland. It is nothing to do with the problem we had earlier this month.
‘We apologise to passengers for the disruption and thank them for their patience. Passengers should continue to check with their airline for the latest information on their flight.’
NATS had said in an earlier statement: ‘Airports south of Manchester are broadly unaffected, however flights heading north and flights departing Scottish airports are currently subject to some delay.’
EasyJet said the latest flight disruption ‘calls into question the resilience of NATS’s systems’ after two air traffic control problems within one month.
The airline said in a statement: ‘A Nats air traffic control system failure in its Prestwick centre is causing delays to flights with some unable to operate.
‘This, once again, calls into question the resilience of Nats’ systems and demonstrates the need for firm actions to prevent these repeated failures.
‘We will do all we can minimise the impact of this for our customers and advise anyone due to fly today to check our flight tracker for the latest information.’
A Ryanair statement said there were ‘delays to/from the UK’ today ‘due to yet another NATS Air Traffic Control IT equipment failure’.
The airline added: ‘We have been advised of a NATS air traffic control equipment failure today affecting the airspace above Scotland/Northern England.
‘As a result, we expect some delays to flights to/from the UK and Ireland. Affected passengers will be notified and any passengers travelling to/from the UK and Ireland on Mon 21 Sep should check their Ryanair app for the latest updates on their flight.’
And a British Airways spokesman said: ‘Yet another technical fault with NATS means some of our customers are likely to experience disruption to their travel plans today.
‘This is disappointing, and whilst it is an issue that is entirely out of our control, we’re doing everything we can to limit the impact on customers and are keeping them updated.’
Jet2 has said customers and airlines need ‘action, accountability and proper resilience’ after the latest issue.
Chief executive Steve Heapy said: ‘Once again, airlines and customers are being disrupted by yet another NATS issue, and one has to ask: how many more failures do customers and airlines have to deal with? This morning’s disruption comes days after NATS published a report into its latest major failure, and it is simply not good enough for this critical national infrastructure to keep letting customers down.
‘Customers work hard to look forward to their holidays, and airlines work hard to deliver those holidays. They should not be repeatedly exposed to delays and disruption because the UK’s air traffic control systems cannot be relied upon.
‘There have been too many incidents, too many reports and too many promises of lessons being learned. What customers and airlines need now is action, accountability and proper resilience, and we need it urgently.
‘Our teams will do what they always do in these situations, which is continue to do everything possible to look after customers and recover operations, but it is unacceptable that airlines and customers are left to pick up the pieces when these recurring failures happen.’
He added: ‘Make no mistake, we are counting the cost of this disruption and will be sending another bill to NATS.’
A London City Airport spokesman said: ‘We are experiencing some disruption due to an issue at NATS Prestwick. We are monitoring the situation closely and working with NATS as they resolve the issue.
‘If you’re travelling today, please check with your airline for the latest information on your flight. Our friendly LCY colleagues are in the terminal today as usual to help your journey run smoothly.’
A Manchester Airport statement said: ‘An air traffic control system operated by NATS has been affected by a technical issue causing delays to flights from some UK airport.
‘Passengers due to travel today are advised to keep an eye out for updates from their airlines.’
A spokesman for Belfast International Airport said: ‘We are currently experiencing some delays to flights due to a NATS Air Traffic Control issue.
‘Passengers who are due to travel should check with their airline for latest information on their flight status. If you do not have a confirmed flight, please do not travel to the airport.’
Liverpool John Lennon Airport said: ‘We are aware of an ongoing technical issue regarding air traffic control operated by NATS at their Prestwick centre in Scotland which is affecting some flights and causing delays this morning.
‘Passengers are advised to check with their airline for the latest information regarding flights.’
Glasgow Airport owner AGS Airports said the issue was causing delays at the hub, and further disruption is expected due to the knock-on impact.
A spokesperson for AGS, which also owns Aberdeen and Southampton airports, said: ‘A technical issue affecting Nats air traffic control services at the Prestwick centre is causing disruption to some flight departures and arrivals.
NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe faced calls to resign after the September 8 technical failure
‘As a result, some services operating to and from our airports are experiencing delays, primarily at Glasgow Airport, and further disruption is expected due to the knock-on impact across the network.
‘We apologise for any inconvenience caused to passengers.
‘This is the second time in as many weeks that a Nats technical issue has had a significant impact on services operating through our airports and we fully appreciate the frustration this will cause those whose travel plans have been disrupted.
‘We advise passengers to check with their airline for the latest flight information before travelling.’
Highlands and Islands Airports Limited warned flights were being impacted across all the airports the company operates – including Dundee, Inverness, Islay, Stornaway, Barra, Benbecula, Campbeltown, Kirkwall, Tiree, Sumburgh and Wick John O’Groats.
It said: ‘Due to a technical issue at Prestwick, flight schedules are currently being impacted across all our airports. Please contact your airline for the latest flight information.’
Regional airline Loganair cancelled a number of flights due to the problem.
As of 9.15am, the airline said it had cancelled ten flights which were due to take place today, saying this was ‘due to NATS air traffic control issues affecting UK airspace’.
This included flights between Glasgow and City of Derry Airport, and flights between the Isle of Man and London City.
Ms Alexander said: ‘There has been a further IT issue affecting NATS. Engineers have fixed the problem and systems are resuming.
‘I know this will be deeply frustrating for passengers after the previous issue. There may be some delays as things reset. Please check with your airline for updates.’
Rory Boland, editor of Which? Travel, said: ‘Not even two weeks since the last air traffic control disruptions, travellers are once again facing the prospect of delays and cancellations.
‘If you are due to travel today or tomorrow, check the advice from your airport, tour operator, airline apps, or airport social media feeds for the most up to date advice.
‘If your flight is cancelled or delayed, you’re unlikely to be owed compensation by the airline as the technical issue is considered an ‘extraordinary circumstance’.
‘However, your airline is still responsible for looking after you during a delay. This includes food and drink after two to four hours (depending on how far you are flying) and a hotel if you are stuck overnight.
‘If you end up having to pay for these things yourself, be sure to keep the receipts as you will need to claim this back from the airline.’
A preliminary investigation by NATS into the September 8 outage claimed it was caused by a fault in the software that allocates codes to individual aircraft – and not by ‘any incorrect actions’.
The fault caused flights both in and out of the UK to be axed – impacting hundreds of thousands of passengers with disruption continuing into the following day.
Mr Rolfe faced calls to resign and Ms Alexander said the disruption was ‘completely unacceptable’.
Last July, a ‘radar-related issue’ caused an air traffic control failure which disrupted thousands of passengers and forced the cancellation of more than 160 flights.
In August 2023, more than 700,000 passengers suffered disruption when flights were grounded at UK airports due to a NATS technical glitch while processing a flight plan.
