Over 100 flights were on Wednesday cancelled affecting thousands of passengers after an air traffic control glitch led to more than 100 flights being delayed and cancelled.
A “technical issue” at the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) centre in southern England led to flights being temporarily suspended at airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff and Edinburgh.
Despite the issue being resolved in 20 minutes, according to NATS, hours of chaos ensued. Throughout Wednesday afternoon and evening, they’ve heard from frustrated passengers across the country.
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One, 35-year-old John Carr, was travelling to Norway for his brother’s wedding when his flight was cancelled. He and a friend said there was “no warning” from the airport or their airline that it was being cancelled, describing the situation as “rubbish”, BBC reports.
Others were trying to stay upbeat. David and his family, who were travelling from Crete to Birmingham but had their EasyJet plane diverted to Paris, said everyone on board was “in good spirits”.
Apologising to those affected, NATS said it was working with airlines to clear the backlog. A spokesperson subsequently told the BBC the issue was a radar one, and there was no evidence to suggest this was cyber-related.
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As at yesterday, 67 departures and 55 arrivals are known to have been cancelled across UK airports, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium.
