All departures at Heathrow and Gatwick have been grounded due to an air traffic control ‘technical failure’.
Thousands of passengers are facing travel disruption and flight delays as a result of the issue.
People are being advised to check in as normal and check with their airlines before travel.
Passengers at several airports across the country, including Luton, Manchester and Newcastle, have also reported delays.
One person posted on X: ‘We are currently sat on Alicante tarmac going to Manchester and this is affecting us. Not just London!’
‘Luton airport too! We’re stranded on the actual plane,’ another added.
A spokesperson for National Air Traffic Services said: ‘We are investigating a technical issue which is causing some disruption to flight departures.
‘Our engineers are on site and we will provide an update as soon as we can.
Thousands of passengers are facing travel disruption and flight delays as a result of the issue (file image)
‘We apologise for the delay this will cause to journeys, passengers should check with their airline on the status of their flight.
‘We will provide updates on www.nats.aero and on X – @NATS.’
It is the latest issue to affect passengers flying out of the UK, with flights at Gatwick brought to a standstill last week after a plane became stuck on the runway.
The plane was surrounded by several fire engines and the runway was closed for around 50 minutes.
This is a breaking news story – more to follow
