Air traffic control chaos - live: Manchester and Belfast flights among hundreds delayed

Air traffic control chaos - live: Manchester and Belfast flights among hundreds delayed Gatwick, Luton, Manchester, and Belfast flights are among those affected by the new meltdown which comes just weeks after another Air Traffic Control glitch disrupted travel for tens of thousands Air traffic control issues have caused major disruption to hundreds of flights across the UK again today with one airport's chief executive now warning delays and cancellations could "ripple through to tomorrow". Air Traffic Control provider NATS said it was experiencing a "technical issue" affecting airspace in northern and central England, as well as in Scotland and Northern Ireland. Flights affected include those to and from Manchester, Newcastle, Bristol, Norwich, London City, Belfast, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Inverness and Islay. While the glitch has now been fixed there are still delays across the UK and passengers have been advised to check flight details with their airlines. Edinburgh Airport CEO Gordon Dewar said: "Potentially this could ripple through to tomorrow as well. So, we’re just working incredibly hard to look after people that are delayed or have to make other plans, make sure the operation can be the best it possibly can in the circumstances." The latest meltdown comes just weeks after thousands of UK flights were grounded by another air traffic control glitch. NATS said a defect in software, which allocates codes so air traffic controllers can identify flights on radar, was behind the decision to cancel those flights. "This happened in the space of a millisecond," a report said. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has acknowledged how "deeply frustrating" the latest NATS IT outage will be for airline passengers. Key Events Airport chief exec says disruption could last 'into tomorrow' The chief executive of Edinburgh Airport has said dirsuption caused by today's air traffic control issue "could ripple into tomorrow". Gordon Dewar said the latest NATS (National Air Traffic Services) problem showed that "something needs to change". He said the system is not sufficiently robust and "something needs to change" adding: "Of course, when flights are cancelled, that means aircraft are in the wrong place for the next one. "Potentially this could ripple through to tomorrow as well. So, we’re just working incredibly hard to look after people that are delayed or have to make other plans, make sure the operation can be the best it possibly can in the circumstances. "And help the airlines get back on to the schedule – hopefully by later today." He said both NATS and the Government should ensure there are not any more "repeat errors". Jet2 boss demands 'urgent and accountable' action after latest outage Jet2 CEO Steve Heapy has demanded "urgent and accountable" action to improve air traffic control technology following the latest outage. Heapy said airlines and customers are "once again being disrupted by yet another NATS issue" and asked "how many more failures do customers and airlines have to deal with?" He added that Jet2 was "counting the cost of this disruption and will be sending another bill" to air traffic control provider. 'We don't really know what's happening' A man who was due to land in Bordeaux today for a two-day business conference says passengers have been left in the dark about the status of their flights. Businessowner Peter Allison, who was supposed to be flying from Edinburgh to London Gatwick before heading to Bordeaux, says he is now going to miss his connection and the first day of his conference. "It isn't great, as a small business, we don't have the funds to spend on flights," he told the BBC. Peter said his captain warned they could be delayed for up to three hours, but that updates have been "few and far between". He added: "Communication has been really bad, we don't really know what's happening [...] We don't really know what 'NATS' or 'slots' are as passengers, so it's not ideal. It's a bit of a nightmare." Three London airports report disruption Luton, Gatwick and London City Airport have all reported disruption today following the air traffic control issue, which is pirmarily impacting flights in Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England. A London Gatwick spokesperson said "a small number of flights" may face delays, with passengers urged to contact their airline for the latest updates. At Luton, "a number of domestic flights" to and from the airport have been disrupted. London City Airport said it has experienced "some disruption" and was monitoring the situation closely. Fuming passenger stuck on plane 'for another two hours' A fuming passenger has been left on a plane for two hours as delays continue following an earlier glitch with NATS' air traffic control systems. "Ryanair are a disgrace," the traveller said in a post on X. "Flight already delayed by an hour, then they board us all to tell us we're going to be sitting on the plane for another two hours! Why. Board. Us. Then." An Easyjet passenger also questioned the delay to his flight, writing: "What is the latest air traffic control problem about? @easyJet is blaming it for the current delay to our flight, supposed to leave at 10.55, now MIGHT leave at 13.12." Full list of UK airports facing disruption The air traffic control issue has since been fixed, but delays are still expected across the UK while "things reset", transport secretary Heidi Alexander warned. The airports currently facing disruption include: - Glasgow and Aberdeen: AGS Airports, which operates both sites, says "further disruption" is expected today, with arrivals and departures primarily at Glasgow "experiencing delays". - Manchester: The air traffic control issue is causing some delays at Manchester Airport. Passengers have been warned to check with their airlines before travelling - Newcastle: Some departing flights are experiencing delays today - Liverpool: Some flights "subject to delay" due to the knock on effects of the earlier technical issue - Bristol: Facing delays and cancellations "similar to other UK airports" - London City: Passengers warned there is "some disruption" - Belfast City: Says there "will be disruption" to both arrivals and departures today Passengers and airlines 'deserve better,' says Airlines UK Aviation industry body Airlines UK has said passengers and airlines "deserve better" after the second air traffic control issue within two weeks. Chief executive Tim Alderslade 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 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. Airlines' frustration as Jet2 boss says repeated incidents 'simply not good enough' This isn't the first time airlines have criticised Nats in relation to air travel disruption or called for the resignation of its chief executive, Martin Rolfe. This comes following the outage on Septemebr 8, when 2,000 flights were cancelled in the UK, leaving hundreds of thousands stranded. EasyJet has now said the latest flight disruption "calls into question the resilience of Nats' systems", while Jet2 said customers and airlines need "action, accountability and proper resilience". EasyJet said: "This, once again, calls into question the resilience of Nats’ systems and demonstrates the need for firm actions to prevent these repeated failures. "We will do all we can to minimise the impact of this for our customers and advise anyone due to fly today to check our flight tracker for the latest information." Jet2 chief executive Steve Heapy said: "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." He added: "Make no mistake, we are counting the cost of this disruption and will be sending another bill to Nats." British Airways said it was "disappointing" that some customers may experience disruption after "yet another technical fault with Nats". Ryanair calls on NATS CEO to resign as more than 25,000 passengers disrupted Ryanair has called on NATS CEO Martin Rolfe to resign today over the company's "repeated system failures" as the airline revealed more than 25,000 of its passengers are expected to be disrupted following the latest glitch. 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. The statement added that just three days later, passengers are "suffering lengthy delays" again as NATS has "failed to deliver either a reliable system or an effective back-up." McMahon 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. Domestic flights at Luton Airport disrupted 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. Further disruption expected in Scotland due to 'knock-on impact' across AGS network The air traffic control technical issue is causing delays at Glasgow Airport, its owners have said. AGS Airports, which also owns Aberdeen and Southampton airports, said further disruption is expected due to the knock-on impact of the delays. An AGS spokesperson 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." Disruption sparked by 'connectivity issue' in network, says NATS In a further statement, NATS says they "experienced a technical issue at our Prestwick centre in Scotland" early this morning. The update adds: To maintain safety, air traffic regulations were applied to manage traffic demand while our engineers investigated. 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. NATS says technical issue is 'now fixed' NATS says the issue in the Prestwick Centre is "now fixed," but that passengers should still check the status of their flights. "We are working with airports and airlines to safely lift air traffic regulations as quickly as we can to minimise any further disruption," it says. "Passengers should still check the status of their flight with their airline. We apologise for the disruption." Systems resuming but there 'may be some delays,' says transport secretary Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander has acknowledged how "deeply frustrating" the latest Nats IT outage will be for airline passengers. Alexander said in a post on X that engineers "have fixed the problem and systems are resuming," but that there may be "some delays as things reset". Pictures show long queues at Manchester Airport as delays hit There are long queues at Manchester Airport this morning as delays caused by the air traffic control glitch hit departuire times. Fresh NATS chaos weeks after 2,000 cancellations and calls for CEO to resign NATS is facing fresh disruption just weeks after a major technical failure caused around 2,000 UK flights cancellations and left hundreds of thousands of passengers affected. The outage came on September 8 following a software defect in its flight-data system. The fault happened when a manual request was interrupted by a higher-priority task and the system failed to process it correctly, forcing air traffic restrictions for around six hours. The fallout saw NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe face calls to resign, with Ryanair among those demanding he step down. The Government has also ordered an independent review into the incident. Delayed plane sat at Norwich Airport runway for almost two hours A flight that was due to depart Norwich Airport has been sat on the runway for almost two hours amid the disruption today. The Loganair flight, bound for Aberdeen and due to take off at 8.35am today, is yet to depart, reports Eastern Daily Press. While the reason for the delay has not been confirmed, it comes after the NATS technical issue, which has already delayed flights across the UK. Belfast Airport warns of delays Belfast International Airport said it is experiencing "some delays to flights" following the NATS air traffic control issue. In a statement on its website, the 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. NATS disruption hits London airport The technical issue at NATS has now reached London, with London City Airport (LCY) reporting disruption this morning. It comes after the air traffic control provider said airports south of Manchester were "broadly unaffected". In a statement, LCY 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." More than 50 flights delayed at Edinburgh Airport Edinburgh Airport says it is experiencing some delays due to the NATS issue at Prestwick Centre. "We are monitoring the situation closely and are working with Nats as they work to resolve the issue," a spokesperson said. According to flightradar24, 54 flights are delayed at Edinburgh Airport so far, with 8 flights cancelled. Manchester Airport issues warning to passengers Manchester Airport has warned passengers to keep an eye out for updates from their airlines following the NATS technical issue. An air traffic control system operated by NATS has been affected by a technical issue causing delays to flights from some UK airports. Passengers due to travel today are advised to keep an eye out for updates from their airlines Major disruption across Highlands and Islands airports Highlands and Islands Airports Limited say flights are disrupted across all the airports the company operates. These include Dundee, Inverness and Islay. "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," the company said. Disruption comes just weeks after another glitch sparked chaos The disruption comes just weeks after thousands of UK flights were grounded by another air traffic control glitch. NATS said the delays and cancellations were caused by a software defect in the National Airspace System which allocates codes to individual aircraft. "This happened in the space of a millisecond," a report said. 'Airports south of Manchester broadly unaffected,' says NATS A new statement from NATS, the air traffic control service, says airports south of Manchester are "broadly unaffected". A spokesman said: Our engineers are continuing to investigate the issue at our Prestwick centre in Scotland. Airports south of Manchester are broadly unaffected, however flights heading north and flights departing Scottish airports are currently subject to some delay. Passengers should check with their airlines. This is unrelated to the issue two weeks ago. We apologise for the disruption. More than 130 flights delayed at Manchester Airport According to flightradar24, 134 flights are delayed at Manchester Airport so far, with 9 flights cancelled. It is unclear how many of these delays and cancellations are directly linked to the air traffic contol issue, but it has been confirmed that the disruption is affecting flights at Manchester Airport. NATS investigating 'technical issue' at Prestwick centre Scotland Air Traffic Control provider NATS says it is "investigating a technical issue" at its Prestwick centre in Scotland. A spokesperson said: To maintain safety, air traffic regulations have been applied to manage traffic demand. Engineers are on site investigating and working to resolve the issue. The issue is unrelated to the technical problems experienced earlier this month. We apologise for the disruption and any delays to passengers’ journeys. Passengers should check with their airline for the latest information on their flight. EasyJet warns of delays with some flights 'unable to operate' EasyJet passengers have been warned to expect delays today, with some flights "unable to operate" due to the air traffic control system failure. The budget airline told customers: A NATS Air Traffic Control system failure in its Prestwick Centre is unfortunately 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. We will do all we can minimise the impact of this for our customers and advise customers due to fly today to check our flight tracker: easyjet.com/en/flight-tracker for the latest information. Hundreds of flights delayed in Northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland Hundreds of flights have been delayed in Northern England, Scotland and Northermn Ireland today due to more air traffic control issues. Air Traffic Control provider NATS said it is experiencing a "technical issue" affecting airspace. The disruption is understood to be linked to a failure affecting the Flight Data Processing System (FDPS) at NATS' Prestwick Centre, according to Aviation News UK.