Air Traffic Control Issue Causes Flight Disruptions at Major UK Airports
Overview of the Air Traffic Control Disruption
Initial Impact on Major Airports
LONDON, Sept 8 (Reuters) - Some departing flights at major British airports were disrupted on Tuesday after air traffic control provider NATS experienced a technical issue, with Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted among the airports affected by restrictions and delays.
Statement from NATS
"We have identified that the issue was in our flight processing system. Our engineers are on site and working urgently to resume normal operations as quickly as possible," NATS said in a statement.
"Flights are still departing and airspace is open, but recovery will take some time."
Responses from Affected Airports
Heathrow Airport
Heathrow, Britain's biggest hub, said it was working with NATS to resolve the problem as quickly as possible.
Other Airports
Edinburgh Airport said in a post on X that the issue might impact its operations. Ireland's Dublin airport said flights leaving and arriving from there were also being affected.
Flight Tracking and Regulation
Flight tracking website Flightradar24 said on social media that arrivals and departures were being heavily regulated at airports in the London flight information region because of the issue.
Background and Previous Incidents
Recent History of Technical Issues
This is the latest problem to hit the country's air traffic control systems.
Regulatory Review and Financial Impact
In 2024, Britain's aviation regulator said NATS needed to review its contingency plans for outages after the automatic processing of flight plans had malfunctioned a year earlier, causing chaos across Britain's airports.
Airline bosses said it had cost them over £100 million ($135.49 million) in refunds and compensation.
Previous Technical Issues
In July last year, a radar-related technical issue in Britain's air traffic control system disrupted flights for over four hours at major airports in London and elsewhere, including Heathrow.
Additional Information
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(Reporting by Sam Tabahriti; Editing by Alison Williams and William James)
