'Technical issue' at air traffic control centre in Swanwick disrupting flights departing the UK
“We apologise for the delay this will cause to journeys.”
Flights departing the UK have been disrupted by an air traffic control “technical issue”, according to an air traffic controller.
An issue at the Nats air traffic control centre is impacting airports up and down the country. Birmingham Airport, and Heathrow Airport, have both been affected, although the latter said arriving flights were “currently not affected”.
Manchester Airport Group, the company that operates Manchester Airport, Stansted Airport in Essex and East Midlands Airport in Leicestershire, said flights from all three had been affected by the issue. Jersey Airport, in the Channel Islands, said its flights had also been impacted.
Passengers have been advised to check the latest flight information with their airlines. A total of 425 flights to and from UK airports had been cancelled by 5pm, according to flight monitoring website Flightradar24.
Nats said in a statement: “We have implemented a fix and our flight system is starting to recover. “We are continuing to work closely with our airline and airport customers on recovery.
“We apologise sincerely for the disruption to people’s journeys today and they should continue to check with their airline.”
A Heathrow spokesperson said: “The air traffic control service Nats is experiencing a technical issue which is impacting departing flights at UK airports.
“Arriving flights are not currently impacted. We are supporting our local Nats team in their efforts to resolve the issue as quickly as possible.
“We will provide updated information when we have it.”
The airport apologised to impacted customers.
Nats provides air traffic control services to 15 UK airports.
Last July, a “radar-related issue” caused an air traffic control failure that grounded flights across the UK – disrupting thousands of passengers and forcing the cancellation of more than 160 flights. The problem happened at Nats’ control centre in Swanwick, Hampshire, and affected the vast majority of England and Wales.