logo
UK airports suspend flights due to major radar outage

UK airports suspend flights due to major radar outage

The National30-07-2025
Flights at London's main airports were grounded or diverted on Wednesday afternoon when a major fault hit air-traffic control.
Radar systems went down as authorities investigated a glitch in the systems serving what is known as the London Control Area.
There is expected to be a significant knock-on effect on UK air services. Nats, the company that operates most UK air traffic services, said it is investigating.
Heathrow and Gatwick airports said take-off and landings were suspended. Within minutes, passengers were reporting knock-on effects of widespread delays and cancellations affecting flights.
In a statement, Gatwick Airport said: 'A technical issue impacting Nats is affecting all outbound flights across the UK. There are currently no departures from London Gatwick while the situation is being resolved.
'We are working with Nats to resume flights as quickly as possible. Inbound flights are still landing at the airport.'
Air-traffic controllers said the suspension of travel was a safety issue. 'Our engineers are working hard to resolve the problem as quickly as possible and we are working closely with airlines to help minimise disruption," it said in a statement. 'At this stage we cannot say how long it will be before operations are back to normal."
Three years ago, a technical glitch occurred for the National Air Traffic Services after a "fail-safe: mode activation could not reboot. The disruption lasted for days.
Earlier on Wednesday, emergency vehicles attended a United Airlines passenger jet at Heathrow when it returned after take-off following a distress call. United Airlines said they were evaluating technical issue following smoke in cabin on Flight UA949 at London Heathrow Airport.
The San Francisco-bound plane was minutes into its flight over the English city of Milton Keynes when it turned back.
The emergency landing at Heathrow went smoothly. The reports of smoke in the cabin were confirmed but no details of passenger welfare were immediately available.
The exact nature of the technical issue or engine fault is not known. The weather in the area was good.
The model is believed to be a Boeing 777-200ER. In June, another plane from the range was forced to land in Iceland during a flight to Rome. The plane was flying at 21,000 feet when it made a distress call to the mid-Atlantic airport.
Orange background

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Comments

No comments yet...

Related Articles

Why artist Marita Setas Ferro has been crocheting sea creatures
Why artist Marita Setas Ferro has been crocheting sea creatures

Khaleej Times

time3 days ago

  • Khaleej Times

Why artist Marita Setas Ferro has been crocheting sea creatures

With its kaleidoscope of colours, underwater marine life has been an eternal muse for textile artist Marita Setas Ferro. Luminescent corals, vibrant sea anemones, and shimmering sea beds are reinterpreted through intricate knitting and crochet techniques with her deft hands. Blending craft, culture and contemporary expression, the Portuguese artist brings alive marine and geological forms with yarn and needle. As part of her ongoing series, Things in Nature, a collection of soft textile sculptures, titled Anemones in Volcanic Rock, are currently on display at Hotel Indigo, Downtown, and at Double J Collective Gallery in Dubai. At the heart of Ferro's creations lie subtle messages around conserving environment and sustainable traditional textile practices. 'I wanted to crochet a piece that would invite engagement and provoke thought about these beautiful yet vulnerable marine creatures. Sea anemones with their vibrant colours, graceful organic forms, and spherical shapes have always mesmerised me,' says Ferro, who is the artistic director at Double J Collective Gallery, a European Union climate ambassador and a sustainability fashion specialist. The centrepiece of this series is a striking hexagram-shaped crochet installation in bold hues of grey, burgundy, saffron, and copper soldered together with metal rings. The threads used in the sculpture are carefully chosen from old shops with leftover stocks and yarn boutiques, to keep the craft practice eco-conscious. Found across all oceans, sea anemones are invertebrates that resemble blooming flowers; they are very flexible, with tentacles that can regenerate. While creating her installation, Ferro says, she was inspired by several intriguing aspects of the sea creatures. 'Regeneration and metamorphosis are integral to an artist's work. Anemones with their regenerative powers and poetic movements perfectly embody this concept. Their presence in my work is not just aesthetic but also metaphorical as they have the ability to reinvent, survive change and express beauty through transformation,' she details. In continuation with her artistic representation of marine natural elements Ferro has crocheted corals, starfishes and shells. Woven with spools of vivid yarn, the creatures appear as seen through a magnifying glass. At the eighth Espinho International Art Biennial, which opened in June 2025 in Portugal, Ferro presented Luminescent Corals — a captivating textile artwork inspired from bioluminescent corals found in the ocean's depths. 'During my research on marine life I discovered deep sea corals that emit bioluminescence. Even in darkness they glow with their internal light. And their colours are exceptionally eye-catching in deep blues, purples and greens. Some of them possess medicinal values. The fact that such tiny creatures hidden away from humanity could emit light and heal life was profoundly inspiring for me, and it became the seed for this namesake artwork,' she says. The series, Things from Nature, is an artistic alert, a call to protect the irreplaceable beauty of nature. Through her textile reinterpretation, the artist expects to evoke a sense of wonder and awareness about life underwater. 'I hope when people see my work, they not only admire it aesthetically but also reflect on the fragility of our planet and the urgent need to stop harming the very world that sustains us.' Her intense love for the sea and her attempt to capture its beauty with her needles stems from having lived along the seashore for many years. Born in 1967 in Beira, Mozambique, Ferro spent the first two years of her life barefoot on the beach playing by the Indian Ocean. Later, her family moved to Porto, a beautiful historic city in Portugal, shaped by granite and sea mist at the mouth of the Douro river. 'Our summers were spent by the seaside or in the countryside harvesting almonds, picking grapes, climbing trees, and tasting fruit straight from the trees,' she recollects. Her father, a nature-loving doctor, and mother, a ceramist, deeply influenced her love for nature and the arts. 'At home we would watch nature programmes by Sir David Attenborough and the underwater adventures of French diver Jacques Cousteau. These weekend family rituals planted lasting visual and emotional impressions on my mind that even today pulse through my artistic brain. When I began experimenting with thick yarn and crochet hooks, I naturally gravitated towards creating three dimensional forms, tactile sculptures that echo the complexity of marine life,' Ferro says. With her background in fine arts and sculpture, Ferro initially worked with metal, wood and leather. Later, as she discovered textile techniques, she instantly felt aligned with the flexibility of the material. Crochet came into her life 16 years ago, when she was 42. Until then, she says, she only knew how to knit. 'I made my first crochet sculpture in 2013 as a way to de-stress. I loved it so much that I kept creating. I exhibited my work for the first time in 2015 and again in 2018 in Portugal, but back then textile art was not widely understood. It was only in 2022, when I participated in World Art Dubai, that my work received due recognition,' she reveals. Today she finds crochet meditative and soothing. 'Now I crochet all the time. It's repetitive motions feel like I am having a quiet conversation with myself. I am most at peace with my hook and ball,' she adds. Her creative process involves watching documentaries, browsing through underwater photography books and collecting images of coral reefs and ocean landscapes. She then carefully selects threads and textures. The final artistic composition, she says, emerges intuitively as she crochets each element while mentally envisioning the entire piece. 'Each crochet sculpture takes hours of handwork. Anemones in Volcanic Rock has been one of my most lengthy projects. Between choosing materials, creating the metal structure, stuffing, hand stitching the backing and refining each detail, it took me around 400 hours.' Besides being a sculptor and crocheter, Ferro also runs an award-winning sustainable accessories brand focused on upcycling and zero waste, made with eco-friendly materials. In her role as an EU climate ambassador she creates awareness about climate change and the importance of sustainable handicrafts. 'Sustainability is our responsibility. It's about questioning how we live, create and consume. Overproduction and excess are wasteful and ultimately harmful. As artists and makers we must reflect deeply on the materials we use and the legacy we would leave behind,' she suggests. Textile art, agrees Ferro, is experiencing a powerful renaissance as a contemporary form of expression. Crochet and knitting are part of broader movements where traditional handicrafts are being revalued. 'Textile craft carries emotional resonance and cultural memory, which make them especially compelling. In an increasingly digital world, handmade, unpredictable and deeply human creations remind us of our connection with materiality, traditions and the beauty of imperfection,' she says.

Light aircraft crash closes Birmingham Airport runway
Light aircraft crash closes Birmingham Airport runway

The National

time4 days ago

  • The National

Light aircraft crash closes Birmingham Airport runway

The runway at the UK's Birmingham Airport has been temporarily closed following an 'aircraft incident'. Images on social media appear to show a light aircraft without its landing gear deployed on the runway, with emergency crews around it. 'Following an aircraft incident, the runway is temporarily closed,' the airport said in a statement on X posted shortly after 2.40pm on Wednesday. 'We apologise for the inconvenience this will cause. 'We will keep passengers already at the airport informed and those due to travel later today are advised to check the status of their flight before coming to the airport. 'We will continue to issue updates when we can.'

Ras Al Khaimah Police officer summits Europe's highest peak, raises UAE flag
Ras Al Khaimah Police officer summits Europe's highest peak, raises UAE flag

Khaleej Times

time4 days ago

  • Khaleej Times

Ras Al Khaimah Police officer summits Europe's highest peak, raises UAE flag

On August 1, a Ras Al Khaimah police officer achieved a remarkable feat —he successfully scaled Mount Elbrus in Russia, the highest peak in Europe at 5,642 metres above sea level. Major Ibrahim Saif Al Mazrouei, a member of the RAK Police force, accomplished the feat after a gruelling five-day expedition, marking him as the first member of the command to conquer one of the world's famed Seven Summits. At the peak, he proudly raised the UAE flag alongside the Ras Al Khaimah Police emblem. Major General Ali Abdullah bin Alwan Al Nuaimi praised Al Mazrouei's determination, perseverance, and ambition in completing this extraordinary challenge. Speaking about the experience, Major Al Mazrouei expressed his pride and joy in representing his country and his police force at such heights. 'Raising the UAE flag and the RAK Police logo on Mount Elbrus is my simple way of thanking my leadership for their unwavering support,' he said. 'This achievement was fueled by determination and ambition, and I look forward to continuing my journey in the Seven Summits challenge.' The challenging expedition was not one without obstacles, as the police officer faced extreme cold, oxygen shortages, strong winds, and steep mountainous terrain. Detailing his efforts, Al Mazrouei said to Khaleej Times that each day he would "ascend to altitudes ranging between 4,000 and 5,000 metres", and then come back down to sleep at lower elevations. "It was all part of helping my body adjust to the altitude." Just before midnight on July 31, he began his final climb. It was 11pm when he set off, and after a long, challenging ascent, he reached the summit at 10am on August 1. His successful climb highlights not only his courage and dedication but also his commitment to pursuing the prestigious global mountaineering goal of reaching the highest peak on each of the seven continents. This remarkable achievement stands as a testament to the adventurous spirit of Ras Al Khaimah Police and the enduring pursuit of excellence beyond borders.

DOWNLOAD THE APP

Get Started Now: Download the App

Ready to dive into a world of global content with local flavor? Download Daily8 app today from your preferred app store and start exploring.
app-storeplay-store