Hundreds of flights across Britain have been hit by delays after a technical failure at an air traffic control centre in Scotland forced restrictions on airspace across much of northern and central England, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
National Air Traffic Services (NATS) said engineers were investigating the problem at its Prestwick centre, which has disrupted flights to and from airports across a wide area of the UK.
A NATS spokesman said: “Our engineers are continuing to investigate the issue at our Prestwick centre in Scotland.”
They added: “Airports south of Manchester are broadly unaffected, however flights heading north and flights departing Scottish airports are currently subject to some delay.
“Passengers should check with their airlines. This is unrelated to the issue two weeks ago. We apologise for the disruption.”
The incident has prompted renewed questions over the resilience of Britain’s air traffic-control infrastructure. EasyJet said the failure “calls into question the resilience of Nats’ systems”, following another recent disruption.
The airline said in a statement: “A Nats air traffic control system failure in its Prestwick centre is causing delays to flights with some unable to operate.”
They added: “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 anyone due to fly today to check our flight tracker for the latest information.”
Airlines warned passengers that the restrictions were affecting multiple flights across the network and could prevent airports from extending bag-drop opening times.
Correspondence sent to some passengers said: “Please be aware that airspace in Northern and Central England, Scotland and Northern Ireland is currently being restricted due to an air traffic control equipment issue.
“As a result of the issue, (we) are currently experiencing delays affecting flights to and from airports in this area. The disruption to your flight is outside of our control and is considered to be an extraordinary circumstance.”
It added: “As this issue is affecting multiple flights across the network, we are unfortunately unable to extend the airport bag drop opening times. Please continue to arrive at the airport in line with your original scheduled departure time.”
Manchester Airport was among the busiest affected locations, with at least 85 flights experiencing delays of more than 20 minutes. Liverpool John Lennon Airport reported eight delays.
Northern Ireland’s two main airports, Belfast City and Belfast International, were also experiencing disruption, with passengers reporting waits of more than an hour for both inbound flights and departures.
Highlands and Islands Airports Limited said the problem was affecting all of its airports, including Dundee, Inverness and Islay.
The company 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.”
London City Airport was also affected despite being outside the main area of restrictions.
A spokesman said: “We are experiencing some disruption due to an issue at NATS Prestwick. We are monitoring the situation closely and working with Nats as they resolve the issue.”
They added: “If you’re travelling today, please check with your airline for the latest information on your flight. Our friendly LCY colleagues are in the terminal today as usual to help your journey run smoothly.”
The disruption comes as airlines and airports face renewed scrutiny over the resilience of the UK’s air traffic-control network, with a technical failure at a single centre capable of creating knock-on delays across multiple regions and airports.
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