Key events
The Irish minister of state for transport, Jack Chambers, has warned of a “major” knock-on impact on flights to and from Ireland as a consequence of the UK air traffic control fault, PA reports.
He told RTÉ radio:
There’s traffic flow restrictions have been introduced to maintain safety in the sky and it will have significant impacts on passengers flying in and out of Dublin, and there are multiple slot restrictions.
So, we’d encourage customers to contact their airline for an update but it will have a major impact on Irish travel because, obviously, the nature and the proximity to UK space.
There will be an impact and delays of several hours for many passengers, and we’d encourage them to contact their airlines.
Sarah Mayor (see 1:30) might be leaving Faro airport in as little as 10 minutes after being told her flight to London might have to wait a total of seven hours after the a network-wide failure for air traffic control systems in UK airspace caused severe delays.
She said all the passengers are “thrilled” with the news. Mayor added:
The BA staff have been amazing they were just preparing to bring out water and pretzels for everyone before the announcement …
Everyone was pretty relaxed it seemed but I think [there] would have been cracking if we had waited much longer.
The captain had the small children coming up for pictures in the cockpit before the announcement so have to say been really impressed with BA and all the crew
Delays don’t seem to be easing. Kevin Pashby has tweeted that their flight from Gran Canaria to Manchester has been delayed by more than nine hours.
Sarah Mayor, who is stuck at Faro airport in Portugal, with her husband and two young children, has been told their plane might not take off for another 5 hours after having already waited for two hours.
At 11am we were on the bus about to go to our airplane, which was due to take off at 11:25. After 10 minutes waiting, they got us off the bus and told us there was a system failure in the UK and all flights were grounded to a halt until further notice.
They then boarded the flight but were told by the pilot that there was a very long queue, so they could be waiting for more than 5 hours.
My husband and I are ravelling with our two and four-year-old so [it is] quite stressful.
They have not been offered any food or drinks yet.
Gabby Logan, a presenter and former gymnast, tweeted that she is stuck on a plane on the runway at Budapest airport and passengers have been told they might be waiting for up to 12 hours.
On a plane on the runway at Budapest airport. After almost 3 weeks away from home I am hours from hugging my family. And have just been told UK airspace is shut. We could be here for 12 hours. So we sit on the plane and wait.
— Gabby Logan (@GabbyLogan) August 28, 2023
We’re just had another short statement from National air traffic services (Nats), who say the UK airspace is not closed, but they have applied air traffic flow restrictions as a safety measure.
The updated statement said:
We are continuing to work hard to resolve the technical issue. To clarify, UK airspace is not closed, we have had to apply air traffic flow restrictions which ensures we can maintain safety.
The Glasgow-based airline, Loganair, warned customers they may experience delays after a “network-wide failure” has affected air-traffic control systems this morning.
On Twitter, the airline said:
There has been a network-wide failure of UK air traffic control computer systems this morning.
Although we are hopeful of being able to operate most intra-Scotland flights on the basis of local coordination and with a minimum of disruption, north-south and international flights maybe subject to delays.
If you are flying with us today, please check our website for the latest information about your flight before setting off for the airport.
There has been a network-wide failure of UK air traffic control computer systems this morning. Although we are hopeful of being able to operate most intra-Scotland flights on the basis of local coordination and with a minimum of disruption, north-south and international flights
— Loganair (@FlyLoganair) August 28, 2023
‘Technical issue’ hits UK air traffic control
UK airspace has been hit by a technical fault, the country’s leading provider of air traffic control services said.
National air traffic services (NATS) said it is experiencing a “technical issue” and has applied traffic flow restrictions to maintain safety. Passengers boarding flights back to the UK have been told of the fault, according to PA news agency.
In a statement, it said:
We are currently experiencing a technical issue and have applied traffic flow restrictions to maintain safety.
Engineers are working to find and fix the fault. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
