Flights across Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England were disrupted Monday after a technical issue affected air traffic control operations at the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) Prestwick Centre in Scotland. The problem caused delays for flights heading north and those departing Scottish airports, while areas south of Manchester were broadly unaffected.
Technical Issue Causes Flight Delays
NATS said engineers were investigating the problem at its Prestwick Centre and working to resolve the issue. To maintain safety, air traffic restrictions were introduced to manage demand while the technical problem was being assessed.
Airports in Edinburgh, Glasgow, Belfast and Manchester reported disruption, with passengers advised to check directly with their airlines for the latest information. Some Scottish airports also warned travelers that scheduled services could be affected while the restrictions remained in place.
The disruption affected flights traveling through northern parts of the UK rather than the entire country’s airspace. NATS said airports south of Manchester were broadly unaffected, although individual flights could still face delays depending on their routes.
NATS Says Issue Is Unrelated to Earlier Outage
The latest technical problem comes less than two weeks after another NATS software issue caused major disruption across the UK. That earlier incident resulted in more than 2,000 flight cancellations and affected a large number of passengers.
NATS stressed that Monday’s problem was unrelated to the earlier software defect. Engineers were continuing to investigate the cause of the new issue at Prestwick while working to restore normal operations.
The repeated problems have prompted concerns from airlines about the reliability and resilience of the UK’s air traffic control infrastructure. EasyJet said the latest disruption raised questions about the resilience of NATS systems, while British Airways described the situation as disappointing for affected passengers.
Passengers Advised to Check Flight Status
Travelers flying from Scottish airports or through northern UK airspace were advised to check their flight status with their airline before heading to the airport.
Airports continued monitoring the situation as engineers worked to resolve the technical problem. The length and full extent of the disruption could change as air traffic restrictions were adjusted.
For passengers, the immediate impact was delays and potential changes to scheduled services. NATS said it apologized for the disruption and delays caused by the technical issue.
Source : bbc.com
