Airlines are racing to get back to normal operations after a technical glitch in Britain's air traffic control system caused widespread disruption to air travel on Wednesday.
Thousands of travellers have faced difficulties, with many likely to continue to experience inconvenience in the coming days.
ATC operator Nats said its systems were fully operational and that normal capacity levels were gradually being restored. A technical glitch had previously led to restrictions on the number of aircraft allowed to fly over England and Wales.
Once flights resume, the company is coordinating efforts with carriers and airports to minimize the impact of delays.
Dublin Airport has warned customers of possible schedule changes due to problems in UK airspace.
Passengers are advised to check flight information directly with airlines.
There have been reports of delays to a number of evening flights to Dublin as many routes pass through the UK air traffic control area.
Ryanair bosses have called for Nats chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign, citing a lack of progress in fixing systemic failures following a similar incident in August 2023.
The airline's chief operating officer, Neil McMahon, said: “It is unacceptable that passengers are once again being held hostage by the management failures of Nats under Rolf's leadership.”
“A repeated breakdown of ATC systems has resulted in airspace closures, disrupting the plans of thousands of people. Clearly, lessons from past mistakes have not been learned.”
Recall that in August 2023, a technical error in the processing of flight data at Nats left more than 700,000 passengers without flights.
Mr McMahon said: “If Nats fails to take responsible decisions, the Department for Transport must initiate urgent reforms to prevent repeated failures that damage the aviation industry.”
The latest incident has left many planes and crews stranded. British Airways has confirmed the majority of its flights have been affected, while Birmingham Airport has announced a temporary suspension of flights.
Some aircraft were forced to divert or wait for landing permission. Heathrow temporarily reduced the frequency of flights to 32 per hour, before returning to the usual 45.
Which? experts have reminded passengers of their rights to compensation for accommodation and meals in the event of significant delays, stressing the need to keep receipts for reimbursement of expenses.
Deputy editor Naomi Leach clarified: “Technical failures are considered force majeure, which excludes monetary compensation but guarantees the airline's support in arranging the necessary services.”
The source of the problem was localised to the Nats operations centre in Swanwick. Transport Minister Heidi Alexander confirmed the incident and advised travellers to check airports for updates.
The Liberal Democrats have called for a thorough investigation into the cause of the outage. Party leader Ed Davey said: “It is unacceptable for major technical problems to reoccur in critical infrastructure two years after the last incident. The government must ensure the system is robust, including checking for possible cyber-attacks.”
Aviation technology expert Junad Ali explained: “The Nats software’s priority remains safety, even if it means temporarily restricting airspace. This approach is in line with public expectations for flight safety.”
Sourse: breakingnews.ie
