Flights across the UK continued to face delays and disruptions on Tuesday following a technical problem in the country’s air traffic control system.
London airports, including Heathrow and Gatwick, were among the worst affected, with departures heavily disrupted after the issue was reported early in the afternoon. Several other major airports, including Manchester, Stansted, London City, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Bristol and Belfast, also reported impacts.
Air traffic control provider Nats said it had identified a fault in its flight processing system and later introduced a fix. However, the system was only beginning to recover, with further disruption expected into the evening.
Nats apologised to passengers and advised them to continue checking with their airlines for updates. Heathrow also urged passengers to travel to the airport only after confirming their flights.
Airlines reported widespread delays, with Ryanair saying thousands of passengers had been affected. EasyJet said the disruption had also caused knock-on effects across Europe, while Eurocontrol reported that some incoming flights were being held at airports abroad.
Airlines have renewed calls for an overhaul of the UK’s air traffic control system following the latest major disruption.
