Flights across Britain were disrupted again today after a further “technical issue” at an air traffic control centre left passengers facing fresh delays and cancellations.
Airports in Scotland and northern England, including Glasgow and Manchester, were among the worst affected. Disruption was also reported at London City, Luton and Belfast airports.
A total of 35 flights due to leave the UK had been cancelled or failed to operate by today, while 37 scheduled arrivals were also scrapped, according to aviation analytics company Cirium.
The latest disruption came just two weeks after an air traffic control failure on September 8 resulted in more than 2,000 cancellations at airports including London Heathrow and Gatwick.
It has added to the pressure on Nats chief executive Martin Rolfe, who was already facing calls to resign following the previous outage.
Ryanair said Mr Rolfe “should resign today” after claiming that more than 25,000 of its passengers had been affected, with 140 flights delayed this morning. The airline said: “Enough is enough.”
EasyJet said the latest failure “calls into question the resilience of NATS’s systems”. British Airways described the incident as “disappointing” and warned passengers to expect disruption, while Jet2 said customers and airlines needed “action, accountability and proper resilience”.
NATS, or National Air Traffic Services, attributed the problem to a “connectivity issue with part of our systems network”. It said the disruption was “unrelated to the issue two weeks ago”, when an estimated 330,000 passengers were affected by a software defect.
Manchester, Edinburgh, Belfast International and Belfast City airports recorded the highest numbers of cancellations, “no fly” flights or services delayed by at least three hours.
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.”
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she understood how “deeply frustrating” the outage would be for passengers, but confirmed that engineers had fixed the problem.
Lewis Fraser, a passenger from Inverness, said he was stranded on the runway at Glasgow Airport and feared missing his connecting flight from Heathrow to Chicago.
Queues formed at Manchester Airport this morning following another air traffic control problem
Passengers waited to take off on an easyJet flight this morning as services were delayed again
A departure board at George Best Belfast City Airport displayed widespread flight disruption this morning
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 flight 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.”
Passengers on a Virgin Atlantic service from Manchester to Orlando, Florida, applauded when they were told their aircraft would finally be departing.
Lisa, from Bury, told the Manchester Evening News: “We were meant to leave at 9.15am, which was delayed to 9.40am overnight. After we boarded, we were told there was a two-hour delay, then we were told we wouldn’t be leaving until 1.50pm.
‘There were a lot of unhappy passengers and a lot of groaning. We had plans tonight which we were preparing to cancel. Luckily we’ve just had an update saying they’re ready to go. Everyone clapped when they found out.’
She added: ‘The staff were really good, they started some entertainment and brought round some water. The captain offered passengers to come and speak to him while we were delayed. Everyone just seems relieved to be departing.’
Steve Davies, 74, from Evesham, Worcestershire, was among those stuck at Birmingham Airport today while waiting to travel with easyJet to Edinburgh.
Mr Davies and his wife boarded the plane, before they were told to disembark after 45 minutes. About 20 people left to go home because they did not wish to wait.
He told BBC News: ‘We are feeling tired after an early start, and quite uncertain about what is happening. I’m cheesed off with air traffic control as it seems to be happening a lot. It’s not easyJet’s fault.’
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.
SEE ALSO: Ann Wilson Says She’s “100% Sure” Earl Spencer Is Telling Truth
‘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.’
Ryanair said more than 25,000 of its passengers are expected to be disrupted after the latest air traffic control incident and repeated its called for Mr Rolfe to resign.
Chief operations officer Neal McMahon said: ‘Just three days after NATS assured airlines and passengers that it had introduced robust ‘mitigation plans’, its flight data processing system has failed again.
‘More than 25,000 Ryanair passengers have already suffered disruption, with over 140 Ryanair flights delayed, yet Nats still cannot tell passengers when this disruption will end.
‘Martin Rolfe’s report claimed that another failure was ‘unlikely’ and that NATS could recover more quickly if one occurred. Those claims have been exposed as completely worthless.
‘Just three days later, passengers are once again suffering lengthy delays because Nats has failed to deliver either a reliable system or an effective back-up.’
He added: ‘Martin Rolfe has presided over repeated system failures, repeated passenger disruption and repeated failures to deliver an effective back-up system.
‘Enough is enough. Martin Rolfe should resign today.’
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.’
NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe faced calls to resign after the September 8 technical failure
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.’
Luton Airport said domestic flights had been disrupted by the air traffic control issue.
A statement said: ‘The air traffic control system operated by Nats at its Prestwick centre is experiencing a technical issue which is impacting flights across the UK including a number of domestic flights to/from London Luton Airport.
‘Passengers are advised to check with their airline before travelling to the airport. We will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.’
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.
‘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.’
Tim Alderslade, chief executive of the Airlines UK industry body, said: ‘Yet another Nats failure is causing delays and disruption for passengers and airlines alike, and comes just days after its report into the most recent major outage.
‘The UK’s ATC (air traffic control) system is critical national infrastructure and it must be resilient enough to keep people moving.
‘Passengers and airlines deserve better and the independent CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) report, together with the forthcoming Civil Aviation Bill, must address the underlying weaknesses in the system so that these failures stop happening.’
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.’
Beverley Griffiths, a senior lecturer in security and resilience at Bucks New University, said: ‘The latest disruption highlights the challenge of maintaining resilience in complex, highly interconnected systems.
‘While NATS has confirmed that this incident is unrelated to the technical issue earlier this month, having two significant disruptions within a relatively short period will inevitably raise questions about how critical infrastructure is designed to withstand and recover from unexpected failures.
‘It is important not to draw conclusions about the cause of this latest incident before the investigation is complete.
‘However, from a resilience perspective, the focus should be on understanding what happened, how effectively the system responded and whether there are lessons that could reduce the impact of future disruption.’
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.
Nats is Britain’s leading provider of air traffic control services and handles about 2.5million flights per year.
The UK government owns 49 per cent of NATS, making it the largest shareholder and giving it a veto over key decisions. Airlines, airports, investors and employees own the remaining shares in the public-private partnership.