Flight disruption is continuing across the UK for a second day after a major technical failure at air traffic control provider NATS led to more than 1,000 flight cancellations on Tuesday.
Although NATS confirmed that the technical issue had been resolved on Tuesday evening and its systems were operating normally again, airlines and airports are still dealing with the resulting backlog, displaced aircraft and crews.
More than 250 flights had already been cancelled on Wednesday morning, according to Sky News, with disruption particularly affecting London Heathrow and Gatwick.
Manchester Airport, which was among the airports affected on Tuesday, said Wednesday morning that it was operating normally, although passengers were still advised to check the latest status of their flights with their airline before travelling.
Technical failure affected NATS flight processing system
The disruption began on Tuesday after NATS reported a technical problem affecting its flight data processing system.
The failure reduced the number of aircraft that could be handled through UK airspace, resulting in widespread delays, cancellations and diversions at airports across the country.
NATS said safety was not compromised during the incident.
The air traffic control provider announced on Tuesday evening that the underlying system problem had been resolved but warned that recovering normal operations across the aviation network would take time.
Airline schedules are highly interconnected, meaning disruption can continue long after an air traffic control problem has been fixed as carriers attempt to reposition aircraft and crews.
Heathrow and Gatwick among airports still affected
Heathrow was one of the airports most severely affected by the disruption.
Hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled on Tuesday, while additional cancellations continued into Wednesday as airlines worked to restore their schedules.
Gatwick also warned passengers of continuing disruption.
Other airports affected during Tuesday’s outage included Manchester, Birmingham, Stansted, London City and several regional airports.
The disruption was not limited to flights within the UK. Restrictions on British airspace also affected international services, with aircraft elsewhere in Europe delayed or held on the ground to prevent additional congestion.
NATS rules out cyberattack
NATS Chief Executive Martin Rolfe said Wednesday that a cyberattack had been ruled out as the cause of the failure.
He also indicated that the latest problem appeared to be different from previous major NATS technical incidents.
The cause of the system failure remains under investigation.
The UK Civil Aviation Authority is expected to receive a full report from NATS and will consider whether further measures are required to improve the resilience of the country’s air traffic control infrastructure.
The incident has renewed scrutiny of NATS following other significant technical problems affecting UK aviation in recent years.
Airlines call for action after latest NATS failure
Several airlines have sharply criticised NATS over the disruption.
Ryanair said more than 65,000 of its passengers were affected and called for the resignation of NATS Chief Executive Martin Rolfe.
Wizz Air UK also criticised the air traffic control provider and called for changes following the latest disruption.
The criticism increases pressure on NATS and the UK government to explain how the failure occurred and what measures will be taken to prevent similar incidents.
UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is expected to meet the NATS chief executive as the government examines the incident and its impact on passengers and airlines.
Passengers advised to check flight status
Passengers travelling through UK airports on Wednesday are being advised to check directly with their airline before heading to the airport.
While the underlying air traffic control problem has been fixed, further cancellations and delays remain possible as airlines restore aircraft and crew schedules.
The scale of Tuesday’s disruption means it could take additional time for flight operations across the UK to return fully to normal.
