irports have been given the green light to continue flying into the night in an attempt to clear huge backlogs caused by a computer glitch which has left thousands of holidaymakers stranded abroad.
The move follows a meeting of the National Air Traffic Service (Nats), the Civil Aviation Authority, airlines, airports, trade bodies and Border Force, chaired by Transport Secretary Mark Harper.
Speaking after the summit, Mr Harper warned again that the knock-on effects of Monday’s disruption were likely to continue over the coming days, and said passengers due to travel should check with their airlines before heading to the airport.
Meanwhile London airports have warned of ongoing “significant disruption” to flights after the first national air traffic control technical glitch “in almost a decade”.
Nats chief executive Martin Rolfe said: “Very occasionally technical issues occur that are complex and take longer to resolve. In the event of such an issue our systems are designed to isolate the problem and prioritise continued safe air traffic control.
“This is what happened [on Monday]. At no point was UK airspace closed but the number of flights was significantly reduced. Initial investigations into the problem show it relates to some of the flight data we received.
“Our systems, both primary and the back-ups, responded by suspending automatic processing to ensure that no incorrect safety-related information could be presented to an air traffic controller or impact the rest of the air traffic system. There are no indications that this was a cyber-attack.
“We have well established procedures, overseen by the CAA, to investigate incidents. We are already working closely with them to provide a preliminary report to the Secretary of State for Transport on Monday. The conclusions of this report will be made public.”
EasyJet will run five repatriation flights to Gatwick following the air traffic control (ATC) fault as well as operating larger aircraft on key routes, the airline said.
“Following the UK ATC systems issue on Monday, easyJet is now operating normally,” it said.
“We have been providing customers with assistance and hotel accommodation and advising anyone who has needed to make their own hotel or alternative travel arrangements that they will be reimbursed.
“During this traditionally very busy week for travel, options for returning to the UK are more limited on some routes and so easyJet will be operating five repatriation flights to London Gatwick over the coming days from Palma and Faro on August 30, and Tenerife and Enfidha on Thursday August 31 and from Rhodes on Friday September 1.
“We are also operating larger aircraft on key routes including Faro, Ibiza, Dalaman and Tenerife to provide some additional 700 seats this week.
“Although this situation was outside of our control, we are sorry for the difficulty this has caused for our customers and remain focused on doing all possible to assist and repatriate them. Customers will be moved onto repatriation flights and notified directly.”
Thousands left stranded
Thousands of passengers were left stranded in the UK and abroad on Monday night after the technical failure across UK airspace, with more than 1,500 departing and arriving flights cancelled, according to aviation analytics company Cirium.
That was equivalent to around 27 per cent of planned flights.
Almost 300 flights had been cancelled by Tuesday morning, including 147 departing the UK and 134 arriving in the UK, Cirium told the Standard.
That’s around five per cent of all departures and five per cent of arrivals on Tuesday.
Airport disruption to UK flights following biggest tech glitch ‘in decade’
Mr Harper said an independent review overseen by CAA would be due “in coming days”.
Heathrow Airport said flight schedules remained “significantly disrupted” on Tuesday.
The west London airport said in a statement: “If you are travelling on 29 August, please ensure you contact your airline before travelling to the airport.”
Luton Airport also warned of further delays or cancellations to flights on Tuesday, while Gatwick and Stansted airports said they planned to run normal flight schedules.
All London airports urged passengers to check their flight status before travelling to the airport.
Gatwick Airport said in a statement: “London Gatwick plans to operate a normal schedule on Tuesday 29 August following disruption …passengers are however advised to check the status of their flight with the airline before travelling to the airport.”
Stansted Airport said: “As our airlines look to accommodate passengers whose travel plans have been disrupted over the past 24 hours, our terminal may be busier than anticipated.”
National Air Traffic Services (Nats), the country’s leading provider of air traffic control, said at 3.15pm on Monday it had “identified and remedied” the technical issue and was working with airlines and airports to support affected flights.
Passengers stuck in the UK and abroad described their frustration, as some had no idea when or how they would get to their destination.
Lyudmila Hristova, 57, said her and her husband’s plans to attend her niece’s wedding in Bulgaria were “ruined” after BA cancelled their 2pm flight from Heathrow to Sofia.
A German couple were considering returning home by train after their flight from London to Stuttgart was cancelled.
Myria Mebold, 36, also said that British Airways “didn’t know anything at all” when she and her husband asked about the situation and their flight.
Major UK airlines such as Tui and BA warned of “significant delays” for passengers amid changes to schedules.
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