UK airspace hit by ‘network-wide failure’ with Bank holidaymakers warned of 12 hour delays in & out of the country
THE UK airspace has been hit by a “network-wide failure” with Bank holidaymakers warned they could face 12 hours of delays when travelling in and out of the country.
Air traffic controllers are facing major disruption as the system has been brought to a halt.
Passengers are being told the network is down and that their flights will be delayed for hours, despite already having boarded the plane, according to reports.
However, it’s understood not all flights have been grounded with the National Air Traffic Controllers (NATS) only putting “traffic flow restrictions” in place.
London Gatwick and London Stansted are reporting they are fully operational despite the failure.
NATS said in a statement: “We are currently experiencing a technical issue and have applied traffic flow restrictions to maintain safety.
“Engineers are working to find and the fix the fault.
“We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.”
One holidaymaker said: “Not Ryanair sitting us on the flight and then telling us there are problems with the UK systems so we aren’t setting off til 6.45pm? It’s 11.50am.”
Another said: “Sat on the tarmac at Ibiza Airport and there are issues with UK air traffic control according to pilot.
“Delay unknown at present!”
Posting online, an easyJet passenger wrote: “Just informed by easyJet that my flight tonight is likely to be delayed by nearly 7 hours.
“Manchester to Prague. Apparently air traffic control system issue.”
BA passengers were also facing huge delays, with one saying: “Yet more fabulous work from British_Airways, currently being told that we will be sat on the tarmac for 7 hours in Milan!”
And TV presenter Gabby Logan was also caught up in the problems.
She said: “On a plane on the runway at Budapest airport. After almost 3 weeks away from home I am hours from hugging my family.
“And I have just been told that the UK airspace is shut. We could be here for 12 hours. So we sit on the plane and wait.”
Statements from some of the UK’s airline giants have been issued.
EasyJet said they are working with authorities to get the issue solved.
A spokesperson said: “We have been advised of an Air Traffic Control issue currently affecting all flights due to fly into and out of United Kingdom airspace.
“We are working with the relevant authorities to understand the impact of this issue and the timescale for normal operations to resume.”
Jet2 added: “UK Air Traffic Control are reporting a significant failure of their systems resulting in significant delays to all flights departing and returning to the UK.
“Further update to follow as soon as we have more information.”
A British Airways spokesperson said: “We are working closely with NATS to understand the impact of a technical issue that is affecting UK airspace, and will keep our customers up to date with the latest information.”
Ryanair’s latest travel advice reads: “Air traffic across the UK is experiencing significant disruptions today Aug. 28 due to ATC equipment failure.
“Ryanair regrets any inconvenience caused to passengers by this disruption, which is outside of Ryanair’s control.”
Scottish airline Loganair also posted a statement on Twitter.
They said: “There has been a network-wide failure of UK air traffic control computer systems this morning.
“Although we are hopeful of being able to operate most intra-Scotland flights on the basis of local coordination and with a minimum of disruption, north-south and international flights maybe subject to delays.
“If you are flying with us today, please check our website for the latest information about your flight before setting off for the airport.”
Stansted Airport reassured passengers they had no problems.
They tweeted: “Hi there, we can confirm that London Stansted is fully operational and we aren’t experiencing any issues. Thank you.”