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Air traffic control system outage causes delays at UK airports
An air traffic control system failure caused delays at airports across the UK on Monday, August 28, according to National Air Traffic Services (NATS). (Credit: Scott Mckinnon via Storyful)
Reports are emerging Monday of passengers being stuck at airports across Europe as Britain’s National Air Traffic Service (NATS) encountered what it described as a "technical issue."
NATS, which calls itself the "UK's leading provider of air traffic control services," first said in a statement that it is "currently experiencing a technical issue and [has] applied traffic flow restrictions to maintain safety.
It later said it has "identified and remedied the technical issue affecting our flight planning system this morning" and that it is "now working closely with airlines and airports to manage the flights affected as efficiently as possible.
"Our engineers will be carefully monitoring the system’s performance as we return to normal operations," NATS added.
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NATS, which calls itself the "UK's leading provider of air traffic control services," first said in a statement that it is "currently experiencing a technical issue and [has] applied traffic flow restrictions to maintain safety.
It later said it has "identified and remedied the technical issue affecting our flight planning system this morning" and that it is "now working closely with airlines and airports to manage the flights affected as efficiently as possible.
"Our engineers will be carefully monitoring the system’s performance as we return to normal operations," NATS added.
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"We are seeing delays, and cancellations are likely," added London's Gatwick Airport.
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Scottish airline Loganair said in its own statement that "[d]ue to a network-wide outage of Air Traffic Control systems, delays and disruption are expected throughout the day for all airlines."
One passenger who Reuters reported was on a plane being held on the tarmac in Budapest, Hungary, said their pilot informed travelers they should expect a delay of 8 to 12 hours.
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Another traveler on a plane waiting to take off from the Greek island of Crete told Sky News that the pilot on board offered trips to the cockpit for children to help pass the time.
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