Flights disrupted across Scotland due to air traffic control issue

Key Points

Flights delayed across Scotland after air traffic control issue
Edinburgh Airport CEO says disruption will likely continue into Tuesday
Glasgow Airport warns of ‘knock-on’ impact across the network
Nats says issue ‘unrelated’ to previous incident
Loganair cancels ten flights as Glasgow routes affected

Disruption to flights across Scotland is expected to continue after an air traffic control issue forced cancellations.

The National Air Traffic Services (Nats) said an issue at the Prestwick Centre, which handles air traffic control across Scotland, had been reported on Monday morning.

Nats confirmed that the issue had been resolved around 10.50am, and said it was “working closely with airports and airlines to safely remove the remaining air traffic restrictions as quickly as possible to minimise any further disruption”.

Gordon Dewar, CEO of Edinburgh Airport, told STV News it will take “all of Monday if not into Tuesday” to get flights back on track.

Flights from major Scottish airports, including Glasgow and Edinburgh, are still subject to delay.

A spokesperson for Glasgow Airport said: “A technical issue affecting NATS air traffic control services at the Prestwick Centre is causing disruption to some flight departures and arrivals.

Scotland

Airlines demand action after second air traffic control issue in a fortnight

Airports in Edinburgh, Belfast and Manchester were registering delayed flights and urged passengers to check with their airlines

“As a result, some services operating to and from our airports are experiencing delays, primarily at Glasgow Airport, and further disruption is expected due to the knock-on impact across the network.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused to passengers.

“This is the second time in as many weeks that a NATS technical issue has had a significant impact on services operating through our airports, and we fully appreciate the frustration this will cause those whose travel plans have been disrupted.

“We advise passengers to check with their airline for the latest flight information before travelling.”

Loganair flights impacted

Regional airline Loganair cancelled a number of flights.

As of 9.15am, the airline said it had cancelled ten flights which were due to take place on Monday, saying this was “due to Nats air traffic control issues affecting UK airspace”.

This included flights between Glasgow and City of Derry Airport, and flights between the Isle of Man and London City.

In a message on its website, Highlands and Islands Airports Limited said flights were disrupted at all the airports it operates.

This includes Dundee, Inverness and Islay.

A statement said: “Due to a technical issue at Prestwick, flight schedules are currently being impacted across all our airports. Please contact your airline for the latest flight information.”

Passengers report 12-hour delays

Passengers have reported delays of up to 12 hours, with some stuck on the tarmac for several hours.

One passenger said: “Stuck at Gatwick after a long flight from Florida. Time of flight keeps changing back to Glasgow and currently looking at at least another hour delay. Been at Gatwick for 3 hours so far and likely another 2 hours at the moment.”

Another wrote: “Try three hours boarded around 9.05 am and not due to take off from Heathrow to Edinburgh until 12.30pm/1pm so far.”

Another said: “Been at the airport since 8am. Flight meant to leave at 10am showing as 2pm now.”

It comes after holidaymakers were hit by delays and cancellations across the UK earlier this month due to a “software defect”.

Nats said the issue on Monday was “unrelated” to the previous incident.

A Nats spokesperson said: “Early this morning (Monday September 21), we experienced a technical issue at our Prestwick centre in Scotland. To maintain safety, air traffic regulations were applied to manage traffic demand while our engineers investigated.

“The issue has now been fixed and we are working closely with airports and airlines to safely remove the remaining air traffic restrictions as quickly as possible to minimise any further disruption.

“This was a connectivity issue with part of our systems network, specific to the operation in Scotland. It is nothing to do with the problem we had earlier this month.

“We apologise to passengers for the disruption and thank them for their patience. Passengers should continue to check with their airline for the latest information on their flight.”