A black day for travel to and from United Kingdom British air traffic control is the victim of a technical problem that the authorities are struggling to identify and, above all, resolve. The result: a series of delays and flight cancellations. "We are currently experiencing a technical problem and have applied traffic restrictions to maintain safety."says NTAS (National Air Traffic Services). "We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause"it adds. NATS added: " To clarify things, British airspace is not closed" .
In an update published mid-afternoon (3.20pm Paris time), air traffic control provided a few details about the bug. " This morning's technical problem is affecting our ability to automatically process flight plans. Until our engineers have solved the problem, flight plans are entered manually, which means we can't process them at the same rate, and that's why we've applied traffic flow restrictions. Our technical experts are investigating all possible solutions to remedy this problem as quickly as possible. Our priority is to ensure the safety of all flights in the UK and to do everything we can to minimise the impact. Please contact your airline for information on the impact of this issue on your flight. We sincerely apologise for any disruption this may cause." .
Flightradar24 confirms: "UK airports, including London HeathrowThe number of departures seems to be considerably limited. Arrivals are continuing. All our most popular flights at the moment are arrivals in London."says the website specialising in tracking air operations.
The company Loganair indicates on Twitter : "Due to a network-wide failure of air traffic control systems, delays and disruptions are expected". throughout the day for all airlines. In these circumstances, Loganair is offering passengers travelling today the opportunity to rebook free of charge within the next 48 hours if a seat is available.".
The many airlines concerned are urging their passengers to check the status of their flight before arriving at the airport.
Finally, British air traffic control assured us at 4.15pm Paris time that it had identified and resolved the problem technique: " We are now working closely with airlines and airports to manage the affected flights as efficiently as possible. Our engineers will be closely monitoring the performance of the system as it returns to normal. "says NATS.
