Passengers are being warned ‘recovery will take time’ as technical issues disrupt flight departures this afternoon.
National Air Traffic Services says the problem affecting airports across the UK’s been identified, and has implemented a fix.
Our reporter Barnaby Papadopoulos broke the news at lunchtime.
National Air Traffic Services said at the time that its engineers were investigating a technical problem.
Heathrow Airport’s apologised to passengers who’ve been affected and says there’s been no impact on arriving flights.
Lisa Minot is Head of Travel at The Sun.
Responding to news of massive disruption to departures from key UK airports because of a fault with the Flight Processing System, Sutton MP, Luke Taylor (Chair of the Future of Aviation, Travel & Aerospace APPG), said:
“I’m deeply concerned by the ongoing problems with the Flight Processing System that have grounded departures at Heathrow, Gatwick and other airports.
“Passengers should continue to check the status of their flights with their airline.
“I know how much frustration this will be causing, and there’s clearly a pattern emerging of serious problems with our aerospace infrastructure.
“Once this incident is resolved, there must be a serious, intensive review of current failings and a commitment from the Government to the investment and modernisation our systems need to keep our skies open.”
The Transport Secretary’s apologised for a “frustrating” travel experience.
Statement from NATS, which looks after 15 UK airports, at 5.40pm.
We have implemented a fix and our flight system is starting to recover. We are continuing to work closely with our airline and airport customers on recovery. We apologise sincerely for the disruption to people’s journeys today and they should continue to check with their airline.
