The British air traffic control system on Monday suffered a ‘network-wide failure’ that could result in flights getting delayed amid a busy day for air travel following a holiday weekend.
The National Air Traffic Service (NATS) said that it is experiencing a ‘technical issue’ and that it had “applied traffic flow restrictions to maintain safety. Engineers are working to find and the fix the fault”. It is yet to be determined what caused the problem and how long would it would take to fix it.
“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. If you are flying with us today, please check our website for the latest information about your flight before setting off for the airport,” said Scottish airline Loganair.
British Airways said it was working with the NATS to “understand the impact” of the issue, BBC reported. Another airline EasyJet told a BBC journalist that 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.
Many people are returning from their long weekend trips abroad, marking today as one of the busiest days in Britain. The London Gatwick airport is one of the most busiest single runway airports in the world.
ALSO READ | UK PM Rishi Sunak faces conflict of interest row over Free Agreement Trade deal with India: Report
Latest World News