Flights across Britain faced fresh disruption today after a technical problem at an air traffic control centre left passengers dealing with further delays and cancellations.
Airports in Scotland and northern England, including Manchester and Glasgow, were among the hardest hit. Problems were also reported at London City and Belfast airports.
The latest disruption comes just two weeks after an air traffic control failure on September 8 forced the cancellation of more than 2,000 flights at airports including Heathrow and Gatwick.
Ryanair condemned what it described as “yet another NATS air traffic control IT equipment failure”, while easyJet said the incident “calls into question the resilience of NATS’s systems”.
British Airways branded the latest breakdown “disappointing” and warned that some passengers were “likely to experience disruption to their travel plans today”.
Manchester, Edinburgh, Belfast International and Belfast City recorded the highest number of cancellations or flights listed as “no fly” this morning, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. The term refers to flights delayed by more than three hours.
By 10am, Manchester, Belfast International and Belfast City had each recorded four cancellations or “no fly” flights, while Edinburgh had recorded three, Cirium said.
NATS, the National Air Traffic Services provider, said the delays were “unrelated to the issue two weeks ago”, when a software defect affected 330,000 passengers.
However, the new failure is likely to increase pressure on NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe, who has already faced mounting calls to resign following the previous outage.
Lewis Fraser, a passenger from Inverness, said he was stranded on the runway at Glasgow Airport and feared missing a connecting flight from Heathrow to Chicago.
Queues form at Manchester Airport this morning following another air traffic control problem
Passengers wait to depart on an easyJet flight as services face further delays
Speaking to BBC News, he said: “We boarded the flight as normal but were immediately told we were delayed. The latest update was around half an hour ago to say we might be waiting another hour and 45 minutes.”
“Some passengers have left the plane in the last few minutes. I’m on the 8am flight to Heathrow and due to fly to Chicago for work at 12:15, but that now looks unlikely… They’ve given us tea and snacks.”
A NATS 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 services departing from 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.”
In an earlier statement, NATS said: “To maintain safety, air traffic regulations have been applied to manage traffic demand.”
EasyJet said the latest disruption raised questions about the resilience of NATS systems, coming after two air traffic control problems in the space of a month.
The airline said in a statement: “A NATS air traffic control system failure at its Prestwick centre is 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 anyone due to fly today to check our flight tracker for the latest information.’
A Ryanair statement said there were ‘delays to/from the UK’ today ‘due to yet another NATS Air Traffic Control IT equipment failure’.
The airline added: ‘We have been advised of a NATS air traffic control equipment failure today affecting the airspace above Scotland/Northern England.
‘As a result, we expect some delays to flights to/from the UK and Ireland. Affected passengers will be notified and any passengers travelling to/from the UK and Ireland on Mon 21 Sep should check their Ryanair app for the latest updates on their flight.’
And a British Airways spokesman said: ‘Yet another technical fault with NATS means some of our customers are likely to experience disruption to their travel plans today.
‘This is disappointing, and whilst it is an issue that is entirely out of our control, we’re doing everything we can to limit the impact on customers and are keeping them updated.’
A London City Airport spokesman 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.’
A Manchester Airport statement said: ‘An air traffic control system operated by NATS has been affected by a technical issue causing delays to flights from some UK airport.
‘Passengers due to travel today are advised to keep an eye out for updates from their airlines.’
NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe faced calls to resign after the September 8 technical failure
A spokesman for Belfast International 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.’
Liverpool John Lennon Airport said: ‘We are aware of an ongoing technical issue regarding air traffic control operated by NATS at their Prestwick centre in Scotland which is affecting some flights and causing delays this morning.
‘Passengers are advised to check with their airline for the latest information regarding flights.’
Highlands and Islands Airports Limited warned flights were being impacted across all the airports the company operates – including Dundee, Inverness, Islay, Stornaway, Barra, Benbecula, Campbeltown, Islay, Kirkwall, Tiree, Sumburgh and Wick John O’Groats.
It said: ‘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.’
A preliminary investigation by NATS into the September 8 outage claimed it was caused by a fault in the software that allocates codes to individual aircraft – and not by ‘any incorrect actions’.
The fault caused flights both in and out of the UK to be axed – impacting hundreds of thousands of passengers with disruption continuing into the following day.
Mr Rolfe faced calls to resign and Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said the disruption was ‘completely unacceptable’.
Last July, a ‘radar-related issue’ caused an air traffic control failure which disrupted thousands of passengers and forced the cancellation of more than 160 flights.
In August 2023, more than 700,000 passengers suffered disruption when flights were grounded at UK airports due to a NATS technical glitch while processing a flight plan.
