A “technical fault” which sent UK air traffic control into meltdown on Monday 28 August has been resolved, but delays and cancellations are expected to be ongoing with airports warning disruption will continue despite the glitch being fixed.
In a statement released on 28 August, UK, air navigation services provider, National Air Traffic Services (NATS), said the “technical issue” affecting its flight planning system had been “identified and remedied.”
“We are now working with airlines and airports to manage the flights affected as efficiently as possible,” NATS said in a statement. “Our engineers will be carefully monitoring the system’s performance as we return to normal operations.”
“The flight planning issue affected the system’s ability to automatically process flight plans, meaning that flight plans had to be processed manually which cannot be done at the same volume, hence the requirement for traffic flow restrictions. Our priority is always to ensure that every flight in the UK remains safe and we are sincerely sorry for the disruption this is causing.”
News reports since have indicated that an incorrectly filed flight plan by a French airline cannot be ruled out as the cause of the air traffic meltdown. The Civil Aviation Authority is carrying out an investigation into the collapse, which caused a third of all flights to and from the UK to be cancelled on Monday, leaving travellers stranded abroad, as well as in the UK.
London Stansted and London Luton are among the UK airports stating that while they plan to run a normal schedule, some flights may be subject to delay or cancellation and terminals are expected to be busier than normal. Passengers are being advised to contact their airline before travelling to the airport.
