Massive network outage hits UK air traffic control: Nationwide system outage causes chaos for travelers – delaying hundreds of flights in and out of the country ‘at least 12 hours’
Hundreds of thousands of passengers are facing ‘absolute chaos’ today after Britain’s air traffic control system went down on one of the busiest days of the year.
NATS, the national air traffic controller – based in Swanwick in Hampshire – said their system had failed.
Travel expert Simon Calder warned travelers are now facing “absolute chaos” – with widespread delays and cancellations.
TV presenter Gabby Logan is among those affected by the shutdown, which has left her stranded on the runway at Budapest Airport.
She wrote, “After nearly three weeks away from home, I am hours away from hugging my family. And just been told that UK airspace is closed. We can stay here for twelve hours. So we sit on the plane and wait.’
Today is one of the busiest air travel days of the year, making the ‘major network outage’ all the more disruptive
TV presenter Gabby Logan is among those affected by the shutdown, which has left her stranded on the runway at Budapest Airport.
Mr Calder told Sky News: ‘What you will discover is that when you are grounded at Heathrow and Gatwick, the busiest single runways in the world.
“There is very little slack in the system. It will be miserable. Meanwhile, hundreds of planes are in the air on their way to Britain.
“What’s going to happen to those planes, will some of them crash when they’re near the airport?”
‘Otherwise you will see planes in Amsterdam, among other places, grounded or diverted in some other way when they make a longer flight. Usually that is a continental airport or an Irish airport.’
Mr Calder said the shutdown would not cause any safety concerns as the system was ‘designed to handle a shutdown and aircraft carrying contingency fuel.
But he added: ‘Obviously this is one of the busiest days of the year. With hundreds of thousands of people flying into Britain, frankly it’s the last thing anyone needs.
“It will have caused at least enough disruption to keep the system out of whack for sure until the end of the day and possibly a few more days into the future.”
The travel guru said air traffic controllers at Heathrow – Britain’s busiest airport – have been forced to reduce the frequency at which flights can land.
He explained: “Normally flights land about every 90 seconds. They can move away from the digital system and become much more analog, making the planes more manual. However, you won’t be able to do it at the same pace.
‘Especially for Heathrow and Gatwick there is so little leeway in the system that it can cause problems. If you reduce the incoming flow and ground the planes at those airports, it’s going to be a very difficult afternoon.’
The news was leaked by Scottish airline Loganair, who shared the news on Twitter.
It tweeted: “There has been a network-wide failure of UK air traffic control computer systems this morning.
While we hope to be able to operate most flights within Scotland based on local coordination and with a minimum of disruption, north-south and international flights may experience delays.
“If you’re flying with us today, check our website for the latest information about your flight before you leave for the airport.”
NATS said in a statement: “We are currently experiencing a technical issue and have implemented traffic flow restrictions to maintain safety. Engineers are working to find and fix the problem.
“We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.”