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Air Traffic Control Glitch Causes Chaos at UK Airports
Confirmed
In Short: Passengers faced further travel disruptions as a technical issue at air traffic control systems affected hundreds of flights at major UK airports.
A technical glitch at the National Air Traffic Control Service (Nats) has caused widespread travel chaos at Britain's airports, with over 2,163 flights affected across two days, according to aviation analytics company Cirium.
The latest disruption follows a similar issue on Tuesday, which grounded around 1,300 UK flights. Heathrow and Gatwick, among other major airports, were significantly impacted, with Heathrow reporting 219 delayed flights as of midday Thursday, each with an average delay of 15 minutes.
The walkout was announced by the trade union Unite, and the National Air Traffic Control Service's chief, Martin Rolfe, was summoned to meet with Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander to address the problem. The incident has prompted calls for an overhaul of air traffic control systems to prevent future disruptions.
Passengers are unlikely to receive compensation for the delays and cancellations, according to the regulator. The issue has also raised concerns about the cost and feasibility of modernizing air traffic control, which could be a significant challenge for the aviation industry.
A judge has ruled that such issues are 'inherent in the normal exercise of the activity of the air carrier,' but the ongoing problems have prompted airlines to call for a comprehensive review of the current system. The latest incident is the third in just over three years, highlighting the need for systemic changes to prevent future chaos.
What's confirmed
- A technical glitch at the National Air Traffic Control Service (Nats) has caused widespread travel chaos at Britain's airports, with over 2,163 flights affected across two days, according to aviation analytics company Cirium.
- The latest disruption follows a similar issue on Tuesday, which grounded around 1,300 UK flights. Heathrow and Gatwick, among other major airports, were significantly impacted, with Heathrow reporting 219 delayed flights as of midday Thursday, each with an average delay of 15 minutes.
- The walkout was announced by the trade union Unite, and the National Air Traffic Control Service's chief, Martin Rolfe, was summoned to meet with Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander to address the problem. The incident has prompted calls for an overhaul of air traffic control systems to prevent future disruptions.
- Passengers are unlikely to receive compensation for the delays and cancellations, according to the regulator. The issue has also raised concerns about the cost and feasibility of modernizing air traffic control, which could be a significant challenge for the aviation industry.
- A judge has ruled that such issues are 'inherent in the normal exercise of the activity of the air carrier,' but the ongoing problems have prompted airlines to call for a comprehensive review of the current system. The latest incident is the third in just over three years, highlighting the need for systemic changes to prevent future chaos.
What's still developing
- Get in touch by emailing sophie.dickinson@independent.co.uk The latest ‘technical glitch’ to cause widespread chaos at Britain’s airports must not be allowed to happen yet again.
- Following Tuesday's technical issue, Heathrow has said that there “may still be some changes to schedules”.
- Passenger journeys in chaos over ‘technical issue’ hitting hundreds of take-offs Passenger journeys in chaos over ‘technical issue’ hitting hundreds of take-offs Tens of thousands of passengers plunged into travel chaos this week are unlikely to get compensation, the regulator has warned.
- London Heathrow, London Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted airports were among the most disrupted aviation hubs on Wednesday.
- But preventing it will mean confronting the awesome challenge – and cost – of modernising air traffic control.
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- At least 177 flights scheduled for Wednesday to and from UK airports had been cancelled, plane tracking site Flightradar24 said, “nearly all at London Heathrow”.