UK air traffic control hit by ‘technical fault’, network-wide delays expected

Image credit: Flightradar/Twitter

UK’s air traffic control it experiencing “technical issues” which has impacted flights across the country, according to a report by the BBC.

The country’s National Air Traffic Service (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.”

UK air traffic suffers network-wide failure

Heathrow Airport has issued a statement confirming the network outage and has asked passengers to connect with the airlines they are flying with.

National Air Traffic Services (NATS) are currently experiencing an outage and have applied air traffic restrictions across the UK. We recommend that you contact your airline for the most up to date travel advice before heading to Heathrow. Please visit – https://t.co/3blUXhGhJz

— Heathrow Airport (@HeathrowAirport) August 28, 2023

Similarly, London Gatwick Airport has said that it is experiencing flight delays and expects flight cancellations due to the network failure.

We are aware NATS is currently experiencing a technical issue. We are seeing delays, and cancellations are likely. We apologise for any inconvenience and ask you to contact your airline for further information.

— London Gatwick LGW (@Gatwick_Airport) August 28, 2023

International flights affected

Additionally, international passengers on airlines outside of the UK have reportedly been told that the air traffic control network is down and their flights will be delayed, as per a report by Sky News.

Scottish airline Loganair posted on  Twitter: “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.”

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

— Loganair (@FlyLoganair) August 28, 2023

As per a CBS News reporter, who was meant to travel with EasyJet from Spain said, “The airline was told the air traffic control issue was “currently affecting all flights due to fly into or 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,” it said.

The BBC reported that spokespeople for London Luton and Gatwick airports said they were aware of the issue, and urged customers to contact their airlines. Additionally, the air traffic control issues in the UK are “resulting in delays and cancellations to some flights into and out of Dublin Airport,” the airport told the British broadcaster.

This is a developing story.

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