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Hundreds of UK flights cancelled after Nats air traffic system glitch
At least 600 flights were cancelled by late Tuesday afternoon, with British Airways saying disruption would run through Wednesday at least and free rebooking offered until Friday.
The Guardian Business reports that a technical issue at UK air traffic services provider Nats triggered widespread flight delays and cancellations, with at least 600 flights cancelled in and out of the UK by late Tuesday afternoon.
The disruption began at about 1pm and affected departures from major airports including Heathrow and Gatwick, and it later spread to incoming flights across much of southern England. Nats said it identified and implemented a fix to restart its flight processing system almost four hours later, but many London-area flights scheduled to depart were still not airborne.
Cancellations and delays continued into Tuesday evening. British Airways said the disruption would affect operations through Wednesday at least, offering passengers free rebooking until Friday.
Other airlines reported significant impacts as well, including Ryanair, which said more than 65,000 passengers were delayed and 50 flights were cancelled. easyJet said the knock-on effects hit flights across Europe, and Eurocontrol said some inbound flights were being held at airports abroad, with disruption likely until the evening.