London: Air travel across parts of the United Kingdom was disrupted Monday after a technical failure at an air traffic control facility in Scotland triggered flight delays and cancellations, marking the second major disruption to the country’s aviation network in less than two weeks.
Nearly 200 flights were delayed, while British Airways canceled about a dozen flights and easyJet scrapped around 50, according to Reuters.
The disruption affected flights operating through Manchester, Glasgow and Belfast airports after a connectivity issue was reported at the National Air Traffic Services’ (NATS) Prestwick center in Scotland.
NATS later confirmed that engineers had resolved the problem and that efforts were underway to restore normal air traffic operations.
“We are working with airports and airlines to safely lift air traffic regulations as quickly as we can to minimize any further disruption,” the air traffic control provider said.
What Caused the Disruption?
NATS reported a technical issue at its Prestwick center early Monday morning, prompting authorities to impose temporary restrictions on air traffic to maintain safety while engineers investigated the problem.
The organization clarified that the incident involved a connectivity issue affecting part of its systems network.
NATS also stressed that Monday’s disruption was unrelated to the air traffic control failure that caused widespread flight cancellations earlier this month.
The latest glitch nonetheless affected operations at several airports across the country.
Glasgow and Aberdeen airports reported delays, according to AviAlliance, which operates both facilities. Manchester and Newcastle airports also experienced disruptions.
Bristol and London City airports reported some impact, while Belfast City Airport warned passengers of possible delays, the BBC reported.
UK Transport Secretary Issues Passenger Advisory
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander confirmed that engineers had resolved the technical problem and that air traffic control systems were gradually returning to normal.
“I know this will be deeply frustrating for passengers after the previous issue,” Alexander said in a post on X.
She cautioned that some delays could continue as systems returned to normal and urged travelers to contact their airlines for the latest updates.
“There may be some delays as things reset. Please check with your airline for updates,” she said.
Earlier Glitch Disrupted More Than 2,000 Flights
Monday’s incident comes less than two weeks after a separate technical failure in the UK’s air traffic control system disrupted aviation operations across the country.
The earlier outage led to more than 2,000 flight cancellations over a two-day period and affected operations at 15 airports, including London’s Heathrow Airport.
The disruption also affected passengers traveling on London-bound routes operated by Indian airlines.
NATS had attributed the earlier incident to a problem with its flight processing system. The organization subsequently confirmed that the initial fault had been resolved.
The latest disruption has renewed concerns over the resilience of the UK’s air traffic control infrastructure, even as authorities work to restore normal flight schedules.
