Britain’s National Air Traffic Service announced that “technical problems” have been detected in the country’s network and traffic flow has been restricted for safety reasons.
“Our engineers are already working to find and fix the bug. We apologize for the inconvenience,” the service reported.
For now, no details are available on what happened and how long it will take to fix the problem.
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
Earlier, Scottish airline Loganair said on social media site X.com that there had been a network failure in UK air traffic control computer systems and warned that some flights could be delayed.
British TV presenter Gabby Logan told the X app that she was on a plane on the runway at Budapest Airport and had just been told that UK airspace had been closed. Logan added that she and other passengers could spend up to 12 hours there.
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
As far as we know, planes already in the air are allowed to land. Those who had planned to start the journey have not yet been allowed to do so.
Travel journalist Simon Calder told the BBC that the planes were landing very slowly, but their flow rate had been significantly reduced. “It’s also unclear when this problem will be fixed,” he said, adding that officials “don’t seem to know at this point what caused the problem or how to fix it.”
Incoming and outgoing flights have also been delayed at Dublin Airport, the capital of Ireland, according to the BBC, referring to the airport’s statement. Passengers are encouraged to check the status of their flight.
Today, a total of 3,049 flights were scheduled to depart from UK airports and 3,054 flights were scheduled to arrive, according to data from the aviation company “Cirium”.
Planes are still able to take off and land, but the air traffic control system has to carry out some processes manually, according to a WhatsApp message sent to the BBC and received by a British Airways crew.
Also, British Airways stated that aircraft outside the country may not fly to the United Kingdom until British Airways has given such permission.
Currently, a large number of British, Scottish and Irish airports – Heathrow, Luton, Stansted, Gatwick and Birmingham airports, as well as Liverpool and Manchester airports – are reporting delayed flights. Traffic was also delayed at Edinburgh and Dublin airports.
Passengers are encouraged to follow the information provided by the airlines.
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2023-08-28 13:07:54
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