Travelers are advised to verify their flight information directly with their respective airlines following a widespread disruption at UK airports on Wednesday due to an air traffic control issue.
Numerous passengers have reported experiencing delays, with one travel expert suggesting to the BBC that the impact could extend for several days.
Airlines are seeking clarification after over 150 flights were canceled and thousands more were grounded on Wednesday.
NATS, the air traffic control provider, has issued an apology, stating that the technical problem was resolved within 20 minutes by switching to a backup system, with full operational status restored within an hour.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander convened with NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe on Thursday morning to obtain a comprehensive understanding of the incident.
Following the meeting, Secretary Alexander acknowledged the “frustrating” nature of the disruptions for travelers and affirmed that she was receiving regular updates.
“This was an isolated event and there is no evidence of malign activity,” she stated on X. “Passengers should check with airlines before travelling.”
According to NATS, the issue that occurred on Wednesday afternoon was “radar-related,” which necessitated a reduction in flight traffic to ensure safety.
Airports across the UK have urged passengers to confirm their flight status with their respective airlines following the disruption.
A spokesperson for Heathrow Airport confirmed that operations were proceeding normally on Thursday. The airport’s chief executive, Thomas Woldbye, stated to the BBC that Mr. Rolfe had contacted him directly on Wednesday to inform him of the radar issues experienced by NATS.
Mr. Woldbye stated: “We are very sorry and express that to passengers affected – that kind of incident should be avoided”.
Flights at other major UK airports were gradually returning to normal on Thursday.
Stansted Airport announced that all flights were operating as scheduled on Thursday morning, while a Gatwick Airport spokesperson confirmed that operations were “stable.” Manchester Airport reported a small number of flight cancellations.
Ryanair also affirmed that all flights were operating as usual on Thursday.
Under UK law, airlines are obligated to provide assistance to passengers in the event of delays or cancellations, including the provision of meals and accommodation, if necessary, and transportation to their intended destination. The airline should also arrange an alternative flight at no additional cost.
However, passengers are not entitled to additional compensation for disruptions caused by factors such as fire, severe weather, strikes by airport or air traffic control personnel, or other “extraordinary circumstances.”
Vicki Sluce and her husband David are currently stranded in Antalya, Turkey, with their two children after EasyJet canceled their flights.
Vicki stated that the airline has attributed the delay to the NATS outage and indicated that they cannot fly them back to the UK until Saturday evening.
“I’m stressed out,” says Vicki. “I don’t want it to affect the kids. My daughter spent three hours crying and has thrown up from stress thinking she’s stuck in Turkey.”
An Easyjet spokesperson said it had “proactively reached out to discuss further the customer’s options to return home as soon as possible”.
“While the disruption was outside of our control, we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused by the air traffic control failure,” the spokesperson added.
Travel expert Simon Calder stated on BBC Breakfast that there would be “thousands of people who are waking up where they did not expect to be this morning.”
He cautioned that disruptions from Wednesday’s outage would continue in the coming days as airlines attempt to transport stranded passengers, as well as planes and crew, to their intended destinations during the peak summer holiday period.
“The trouble is, at this time of year everything is stretched, all the airlines are running to maximum efficiency, very little slack in the system, very few spare seats to accommodate passengers whose flights were cancelled in the hundreds,” he said.
According to aviation data firm Cirium, 84 departures and 71 arrivals were canceled across all UK airports on Wednesday evening. This represents 3% of all departures and 2% of all arrivals.
Cirium does not attribute causes for cancellations but confirmed that Wednesday evening’s cancellations were above average.
On Thursday morning, 12 departures and 11 arrivals had been canceled by 08:30 BST, but Cirium stated that it was too early to determine if those figures were outside the normal range.
EasyJet’s chief operating officer, David Morgan, described the outage as “extremely disappointing,” while a Ryanair executive called for the resignation of NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe.
Ryanair executive Neal McMahon stated that it was evident that “no lessons” had been learned and that passengers continued to “suffer” as a result of Mr. Rolfe’s “incompetence.”
In August 2023, a major outage resulted in the cancellation of over 500 flights at the UK’s busiest airports, affecting more than 700,000 passengers.
NATS stated that the recent issue was distinct from the problems encountered in 2023 and that it had fully implemented the 11 recommendations made by the Civil Aviation Authority following that incident.
EasyJet’s chief operating officer, David Morgan, said: “It’s extremely disappointing to see an ATC failure once again causing disruption to our customers at this busy and important time of year for travel.”
Graham Lake, a former director general of the Civil Air Navigation Services Organisation, stated on the BBC’s Today program that it was unfair to call for the resignation of the head of NATS, as the organization restored the system “as safely and quickly as it could.”
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