Air traffic control disruption: Edinburgh Airport boss issues warning to passengers.TA

Flights were delayed in Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England today amid an air traffic control (ATC) issue on Monday, National Air Traffic Services (Nats) said.

The company said the issue was unrelated to a software fault at Nats on September 8, which caused more than 2,000 flights to be cancelled, disrupting hundreds of thousands of passengers.

Some 117 flights scheduled to depart the UK were cancelled on Monday, as well as 110 that were due to arrive, aviation analytics company Cirium said at around 4.30pm.

Airports in Edinburgh, Belfast and Manchester were registering delayed flights, and Luton Airport said domestic flights had been disrupted.

Nats said Monday’s incident was caused by a “connectivity issue” at its Prestwick centre in Scotland, which has since been fixed, with its system now running at “full capacity.”

In a post on X, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander acknowledged how “deeply frustrating” the latest disruption would be “after the previous issue.”

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Jet2 chief executive Steve Heapy said it was “simply not good enough for this critical national infrastructure to keep letting customers down.”

“There have been too many incidents, too many reports and too many promises of lessons being learned,” he said.

“What customers and airlines need now is action, accountability and proper resilience, and we need it urgently.”

He added: “Make no mistake, we are counting the cost of this disruption and will be sending another bill to Nats.”

Jet2 say they ‘will be sending another bill to Nats’ (Image: Getty)

Nikki Ferguson and her family were meant to be flying from Glasgow to Paris Charles de Gaulle with EasyJet on Monday morning but their flight was cancelled, and they have been moved onto a flight from Edinburgh to Paris on Monday evening.

Mrs Fergsuon, her husband and their two daughters aged seven and 15, from Aberdeen, travelled down on Sunday and stayed near the airport to be in time for the flight only to find out it had been cancelled.

She said: “It has been a bit of a whirlwind. My youngest daughter was crying thinking we were not going to get to go. We’re still feeling stressed, not sure if we’re actually going to get there today or not.

“We booked the holiday a year ago, it was the girls’ big Christmas present. We’re going for a week with three days in Disneyland and the rest of the time doing touristy things around Paris.

“We have been really looking forward to the holiday. It’s not been the best start to the trip, but if we still get there then it’s fine.”

Bride-to-be Barbara Ann Stoddart was due to be flying to Las Vegas with groom Andrew Lithgow, their three children, best man and a friend, and was hoping they still make it in time for the wedding.

The group, from the Glasgow area, were due to fly from Glasgow to Heathrow with British Airways on Monday but that flight was cancelled, meaning they will miss their connection to Las Vegas on Monday and have been booked onto a flight late afternoon on Tuesday.

She said: “I’m completely stressed out. This has been planned for about a year-and-a-half, going away to get married, and the flight has now been cancelled, so we’re going to miss a full day as we won’t be there till tomorrow night.

“I have still to go to the county court in Vegas to go and get the marriage licence, and I’ve got to be there three days in advance.

“The wedding is on Saturday but if there’s any hiccups I might not be getting married on Saturday now.

“I was going to do it on Tuesday because they said if there’s any hiccups or delays it gives you an extra 24 hours for them to process at their end.

“The wedding chapel and everything is already booked and paid for as well, and it’s on the Saturday, so we can’t rearrange it.”

Barbara and Andrew were due to fly to Las Vegas today to be married (Image: PA)

The chief executive of Edinburgh Airport has said the air traffic control issue, which caused flight disruption for a second time this month, is “incredibly disappointing”.

Gordon Dewar said the Nats (National Air Traffic Services) problem showed that “something needs to change”.

Flights have been delayed in Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England due to a “connectivity issue” at the Nats centre in Prestwick.

Mr Dewar spoke to journalists as part of an unrelated announcement at Edinburgh Airport.

He told the Press Association: “We’re still in the middle of this, another Nats failure that’s come hot on the heels of the last one, which is incredibly disappointing and frustrating.”

Mr Dewar said there had been some delays and cancellations at the airport on Monday morning.

He continued: “The system is clearly not working – twice in the last few weeks.

“It’s national infrastructure that we’re all dependent upon.”

 Wizz Air has lashed out at the National Air Traffic Service (Nats), questioning “which part of the country will be next?”

The company’s UK chief noted that the last disruption earlier this month affected the south of the country while today’s incident affected the north.

She said: “Passengers and airlines are entitled to ask: which part of the country will be next?

“How many other hidden weaknesses remain within its systems?”

“Repeated apologies are no longer enough. Nats must urgently fix these failures, demonstrate that robust back-up systems are in place and provide full transparency about how repeated outages can occur within such a short period”, she added.

‘Which part of the country will be next?’, asks Wizz Air boss (Image: Getty)

Passengers impacted by the air traffic control disruption on Monday are “unlikely to be entitled to compensation”, a regulator has said.

At least 200 flights departing or arriving into the UK have been cancelled so far (Image: Getty)

Peter Haydock said Monday’s air traffic control problems set his journey between Birmingham and Edinburgh back by hours and led to a “wasted day”.

His flight was meant to arrive at 9am but only landed around 1.30pm.

He told the Press Association at Edinburgh Airport: “We got on the plane – and they told us on the plane. We sat there for 30 minutes, and they took us off the plane, back to the waiting area.

“We sat there for two or two and a half hours, and then reboarded the plane.”

Mr Haydock said the delays had led to him missing a coach as part of his work trip.

The construction project manager said: “By the time I get to site, it’s going to be close to 4 o’clock, which is a complete wasted day, isn’t it?”

Stephen Jaeger, from San Francisco, had his journey from the US city to Belfast disrupted by the air traffic control problems.

A cancellation meant he was stuck at Edinburgh Airport on Monday afternoon, unable to get a transfer flight to Belfast until Tuesday.

He told Press Association that altogether his work trip has been delayed by about 18 hours.

He said: “I could not get a flight, any of the later flights.

“There were two more tonight that I was not able to get, but they did book me a flight for tomorrow morning.”

He added: “I’m used to it. You know, I’m a business traveller, and these things happen.”

At least 200 flights departing or arriving in the UK have been cancelled so far today, aviation analytics company Cirium has said.

According to Cirium, easyJet is the most impacted airline, with 47 (7%) of its 670 scheduled departures from the UK today cancelled.

As of 1.45pm, 17.4% of departures from George Best Belfast City Airport had been cancelled or considered “no fly”, along with 12.5% from Belfast International Airport and 10.3% from Glasgow Airport, the company said.

These were the worst-affected airports, according to the analysis. Cirium tags flights as “no flies” if they are delayed for more than three hours.

Nats saying the two incidents in September are unrelated does not offer reassurance, the managing director of Wizz Air UK said.

Yvonne Moynihan said in a statement: “Last week, a Nats system failure brought widespread disruption to the south of the UK. Today, another failure has affected the north. Passengers and airlines are entitled to ask: which part of the country will be next?

“Nats claims the two incidents are unrelated. Far from offering reassurance, this raises an even more serious question: how many other hidden weaknesses remain within its systems? Repeated apologies are no longer enough.

“Nats must urgently fix these failures, demonstrate that robust back-up systems are in place and provide full transparency about how repeated outages can occur within such a short period.

“Airlines are once again being left to manage the operational and financial consequences of a failure entirely outside their control while passengers pay the real price through delays, cancellations and disrupted plans. This cannot continue.”

The travel industry and the public will “want answers” after the latest Nats error, a trade organisation has said.

Luke Petherbridge, director of public affairs for travel trade organisation Abta, said: “This is the second Nats incident to cause disruption in the last fortnight, and fourth in recent years. It’s simply not good enough.

“The industry and travelling public will want answers – not only on what has gone wrong, but critically, how the system is going to be made more resilient to avoid future outages.

“These incidents cause inconvenience to travellers and significant financial costs for airlines and the wider travel industry, including additional work and costs for Abta’s tour operator and travel agent members.

“As these Nats issues are entirely outside of travel companies’ control, the Government should seriously consider whether Nats should be made to compensate the wider industry for such events.”

The chief executive of Edinburgh Airport has said the air traffic control issue, which caused flight disruption for a second time this month, is “incredibly disappointing”.

Gordon Dewar said the Nats (National Air Traffic Services) problem showed that “something needs to change”.

He told the Press Association: “Of course, when flights are cancelled, that means aircraft are in the wrong place for the next one. Potentially this could ripple through to tomorrow as well.

“So, we’re just working incredibly hard to look after people that are delayed or have to make other plans, make sure the operation can be the best it possibly can in the circumstances. And help the airlines get back on to the schedule – hopefully by later today.”

Bride-to-be Barbara Ann Stoddart was due to be flying to Las Vegas with groom Andrew Lithgow, their three children, best man and a friend, and is hoping they still make it in time for the wedding.

They were due to fly from Glasgow to Heathrow with British Airways on Monday, but that flight was cancelled, meaning they will miss their connection to Las Vegas on Monday and have been booked onto a flight late afternoon on Tuesday.

She said: “I’m completely stressed out. This has been planned for about a year and a half, going away to get married, and the flight has now been cancelled, so we’re going to miss a full day as we won’t be there till tomorrow night.

“I have still to go to the county court in Vegas to go and get the marriage licence, and I’ve got to be there three days in advance. The wedding is on Saturday but if there’s any hiccups, I might not be getting married on Saturday now.

“I was going to do it on Tuesday because they said if there’s any hiccups or delays, it gives you an extra 24 hours for them to process at their end.

“The wedding chapel and everything is already booked and paid for as well, and it’s on the Saturday, so we can’t rearrange it.”

Disruption caused by an issue with air traffic control systems is “very regrettable”, Scottish First Minister John Swinney has said.

Speaking to the Press Association during an unrelated visit to Edinburgh Airport, the First Minister said: “It’s very regrettable that there’s been an issue with the air traffic control system today and that members of the public have experienced disruption as a result.

“I’m glad the issues are now resolved and that flights are able to take their normal course, but it demonstrates of all organisations, particularly the air traffic control system, having resilience, being able to withstand issues in the systems, so that people can rely on the services that are being provided.

“So, we’ll engage with the national air traffic control service to ensure that these issues are addressed and that the resilience is necessary for these systems is available at all times.”

Passengers and airlines “deserve better”, an aviation industry body has said after the second air traffic control issue within two weeks.

Tim Alderslade, chief executive of Airlines UK, said: “Yet another Nats failure is causing delays and disruption for passengers and airlines alike, and comes just days after its report into the most recent major outage.

“The UK’s ATC (air traffic control) system is critical national infrastructure and it must be resilient enough to keep people moving.

“Passengers and airlines deserve better and the independent CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) report, together with the forthcoming Civil Aviation Bill, must address the underlying weaknesses in the system so that these failures stop happening.”

A spokesperson said: “NATS has reported that the issue affecting one of its air traffic control sites in Scotland has been fixed.

“Operations are returning to normal but some flights may still be affected by delays as a result of the earlier problem “Passengers due to travel today are advised to check for updates from their airline.”

Ryanair has said more than 25,000 of its passengers are expected to be affected by the latest air traffic control incident and has repeated its call for NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign.

Chief operations officer Neal McMahon said: “Just three days after Nats assured airlines and passengers that it had introduced robust ‘mitigation plans’, its flight data processing system has failed again.

“More than 25,000 Ryanair passengers have already suffered disruption, with over 140 Ryanair flights delayed, yet Nats still cannot tell passengers when this disruption will end.

“Martin Rolfe’s report claimed that another failure was ‘unlikely’ and that Nats could recover more quickly if one occurred. Those claims have been exposed as completely worthless.

“Just three days later, passengers are once again suffering lengthy delays because Nats has failed to deliver either a reliable system or an effective back-up.”

He added: “Martin Rolfe has presided over repeated system failures, repeated passenger disruption and repeated failures to deliver an effective back-up system. Enough is enough. Martin Rolfe should resign today.”

Luton Airport said domestic flights had been disrupted by the air traffic control issue.

A statement said: “The air traffic control system operated by Nats at its Prestwick centre is experiencing a technical issue which is impacting flights across the UK including a number of domestic flights to/from London Luton Airport.

“Passengers are advised to check with their airline before travelling to the airport. We will continue to provide updates as more information becomes available.”

Nats said in a statement: “The issue in our Prestwick centre is now fixed. We are working with airports and airlines to safely lift air traffic regulations as quickly as we can to minimise any further disruption.

“Passengers should still check the status of their flight with their airline. We apologise for the disruption.”

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said on social media: “There has been a further IT issue affecting Nats. Engineers have fixed the problem and systems are resuming.

“I know this will be deeply frustrating for passengers after the previous issue. There may be some delays as things reset. Please check with your airline for updates.”

Jet2 has said customers and airlines need “action, accountability and proper resilience” after the latest NATS issue.

Chief executive Steve Heapy said: “This morning’s disruption comes days after NATS published a report into its latest major failure and it is simply not good enough for this critical national infrastructure to keep letting customers down.

“Customers work hard to look forward to their holidays and airlines work hard to deliver those holidays. They should not be repeatedly exposed to delays and disruption because the UK’s air traffic control systems cannot be relied upon.

“There have been too many incidents, too many reports and too many promises of lessons being learned. What customers and airlines need now is action, accountability and proper resilience, and we need it urgently.”

He added: “Make no mistake, we are counting the cost of this disruption and will be sending another bill to NATS.”

British Airways has said it is “disappointing” that some customers may experience disruption after “yet another technical fault with NATS”.

A spokesperson said: “Yet another technical fault with Nats means some of our customers are likely to experience disruption to their travel plans today.

“This is disappointing and whilst it is an issue that is entirely out of our control, we’re doing everything we can to limit the impact on customers and are keeping them updated.”

Manchester, Belfast International, Edinburgh and George Best Belfast City airports have seen the most cancellations or flights registered as “no fly” on Monday morning, according to aviation analytics company Cirium.

The company tags flights as “no flies” if they are delayed for more than three hours. As of Monday at 9.58am, Manchester, Belfast International and George Best Belfast City airports had each seen four flights cancelled or no flies, whilst Edinburgh had seen three.

Highlands and Islands Airports Limited said flights were disrupted across all the airports it operates, including Dundee, Inverness and Islay.

It said: “Due to a technical issue at Prestwick, flight schedules are currently being impacted across all our airports. Please contact your airline for the latest flight information.”

An easyJet spokesperson said: “A NATS Air Traffic Control system failure in its Prestwick Centre is unfortunately causing delays to flights with some unable to operate. This, once again, calls into question the resilience of NATS’ systems and demonstrates the need for firm actions to prevent these repeated failures.

“We will do all we can minimise the impact of this for our customers and advise customers due to fly today to check our flight tracker: easyjet.com/en/flight-tracker for the latest information.”

A NATS spokesperson said: “We are investigating a technical issue at our Prestwick centre in Scotland. To maintain safety, air traffic regulations have been applied to manage traffic demand.

“Engineers are on site investigating and working to resolve the issue. The issue is unrelated to the technical problems experienced earlier this month.

“We apologise for the disruption and any delays to passengers’ journeys. Passengers should check with their airline for the latest information on their flight.”

National Air Traffic Services (NATS) said engineers were called in to deal with the issue at Prestwick, which handles air traffic control across Scotland and northern England.

Delays have been reported at Glasgow, Prestwick, Edinburgh, Dundee and Benbecula airports.