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The Irish Sun
5 minutes ago
- The Irish Sun
What to do if your flight is cancelled or delayed due to mystery ‘tech glitch' – and can you can claim compensation
HUNDREDS of Brits saw their travel plans plunged into chaos after a tech glitch yesterday - here's what to do if your flight was affected. If your trip was delayed or cancelled, you could be entitled to compensation. Advertisement 2 Find out your flight compensation rights Credit: Getty Under UK law, airlines have to provide compensation if your flight arrives at its destination more than three hours late. If you're flying to or from the UK, your airline must let you choose a refund or an alternative flight. You will be able to get your money back for the part of your ticket that you haven't used yet. So if you booked a return flight and the outbound leg is cancelled, you can get the full cost of the return ticket refunded. Advertisement Read More But if travelling is essential, then your airline has to find you an alternative flight. This could even be with another airline. However, the airline doesn't have to give you a refund if the flight was cancelled due to reasons beyond their control, such as extreme weather. Disruptions caused by things like extreme weather, airport or air traffic control employee strikes or other 'extraordinary circumstances' are not eligible for compensation. Advertisement Most read in News Travel Some airlines may stretch the definition of "extraordinary circumstances" but you can challenge them through the aviation regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). If you can't claim compensation directly through the airline, your travel insurance may refund you. Furious Virgin passengers stranded at military base after flyer's 'panic attack' Policies vary so you should check the small print, but a delay of eight to 12 hours will normally mean you qualify for some money from your insurer. Remember to get written confirmation of your delay from the airport as your insurer will need proof. Advertisement If your flight is cancelled entirely, you're unlikely to be covered by your insurance. This comes after Most of these cancellations were at London Heathrow, with 29 departures and 17 arrivals. But Gatwick, Birmingham, Edinburgh, and Manchester Airports were all affected by the tech glitch. Advertisement A spokesperson for NATS said the issue was related to radar. There is no evidence the disruption was down to a cyber incident, according to the official body. NATS said in a statement: "This was a radar-related issue which was resolved by quickly switching to the back-up system during which time we reduced traffic to ensure safety. "There is no evidence that this was cyber related." Advertisement Despite flight schedules getting back on track by yesterday evening, aviation experts have warned disruption could continue across the next few days. The Sun's head of travel Lisa Minot previously advised what you should do if travelling this summer . She said: "Whatever happens if it is [your flight] delayed or cancelled for reasons outside of the the airlines control, then unfortunately there is no compensation due. "But the airline does have a duty of care to look after you. Advertisement "If your flight is cancelled and it is the airline's fault ... then you could be due compensation. "It could be anything up to £520." Lisa also explained what to do if the airline claims a situation was outside of their control. "If your Advertisement "That doesn't necessarily mean you have to wait for your airline to provide you with another flight on a different day. "if you can fly on the day that you're due to travel with a different airline and get yourself to your destination, the airline would have to pay for that. "If you are in that situation and you urgently have to get somewhere, what you should be looking at is not just the flights from your airline, but alternative airlines. "That could be going out of different Advertisement In addition to making sure passengers reach their destinations, airlines also have a duty of care to look after passengers whose flights have been delayed or cancelled. Lisa added: "That would involve "On top of that, if you are delayed overnight, then the airline is actually responsible for finding you a hotel accommodation. "That might not always be possible with a significant number of people involved, over 100,000 were involved in flight cancellations earlier this summer, in that case, make sure you keep all your receipts. Advertisement "Book a meal, book 2 Chaos was sparked yesterday when 150 flights were cancelled Credit: Getty More to follow... For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video. Advertisement Like us on Facebook at
Scottish Sun
6 minutes ago
- Scottish Sun
What to do if your flight is cancelled or delayed due to mystery ‘tech glitch' – and can you can claim compensation
Click to share on X/Twitter (Opens in new window) Click to share on Facebook (Opens in new window) HUNDREDS of Brits saw their travel plans plunged into chaos after a tech glitch yesterday - here's what to do if your flight was affected. If your trip was delayed or cancelled, you could be entitled to compensation. Sign up for Scottish Sun newsletter Sign up 2 Find out your flight compensation rights Credit: Getty Under UK law, airlines have to provide compensation if your flight arrives at its destination more than three hours late. If you're flying to or from the UK, your airline must let you choose a refund or an alternative flight. You will be able to get your money back for the part of your ticket that you haven't used yet. So if you booked a return flight and the outbound leg is cancelled, you can get the full cost of the return ticket refunded. But if travelling is essential, then your airline has to find you an alternative flight. This could even be with another airline. However, the airline doesn't have to give you a refund if the flight was cancelled due to reasons beyond their control, such as extreme weather. Disruptions caused by things like extreme weather, airport or air traffic control employee strikes or other 'extraordinary circumstances' are not eligible for compensation. Some airlines may stretch the definition of "extraordinary circumstances" but you can challenge them through the aviation regulator the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA). If you can't claim compensation directly through the airline, your travel insurance may refund you. Furious Virgin passengers stranded at military base after flyer's 'panic attack' Policies vary so you should check the small print, but a delay of eight to 12 hours will normally mean you qualify for some money from your insurer. Remember to get written confirmation of your delay from the airport as your insurer will need proof. If your flight is cancelled entirely, you're unlikely to be covered by your insurance. This comes after a staggering 150 flights were cancelled yesterday. Most of these cancellations were at London Heathrow, with 29 departures and 17 arrivals. But Gatwick, Birmingham, Edinburgh, and Manchester Airports were all affected by the tech glitch. A spokesperson for NATS said the issue was related to radar. There is no evidence the disruption was down to a cyber incident, according to the official body. NATS said in a statement: "This was a radar-related issue which was resolved by quickly switching to the back-up system during which time we reduced traffic to ensure safety. "There is no evidence that this was cyber related." Despite flight schedules getting back on track by yesterday evening, aviation experts have warned disruption could continue across the next few days. The Sun's head of travel Lisa Minot previously advised what you should do if travelling this summer. She said: "Whatever happens if it is [your flight] delayed or cancelled for reasons outside of the the airlines control, then unfortunately there is no compensation due. "But the airline does have a duty of care to look after you. "If your flight is cancelled and it is the airline's fault ... then you could be due compensation. "It could be anything up to £520." Lisa also explained what to do if the airline claims a situation was outside of their control. "If your flight is cancelled, the airline legally must get you to your destination as quickly as possible, by any means," the head of travel continued. "That doesn't necessarily mean you have to wait for your airline to provide you with another flight on a different day. "if you can fly on the day that you're due to travel with a different airline and get yourself to your destination, the airline would have to pay for that. "If you are in that situation and you urgently have to get somewhere, what you should be looking at is not just the flights from your airline, but alternative airlines. "That could be going out of different airports in the UK, or perhaps flying into different airports in your destination, just so you can get yourself out there." In addition to making sure passengers reach their destinations, airlines also have a duty of care to look after passengers whose flights have been delayed or cancelled. Lisa added: "That would involve food vouchers and drinks vouchers, if you're delayed for a significant amount of time. "On top of that, if you are delayed overnight, then the airline is actually responsible for finding you a hotel accommodation. "That might not always be possible with a significant number of people involved, over 100,000 were involved in flight cancellations earlier this summer, in that case, make sure you keep all your receipts. "Book a meal, book a hotel and keep those costs reasonable." 2 Chaos was sparked yesterday when 150 flights were cancelled Credit: Getty More to follow... For the latest news on this story keep checking back at The Sun Online is your go-to destination for the best celebrity news, real-life stories, jaw-dropping pictures and must-see video. Like us on Facebook at and follow us from our main Twitter account at @TheSun.
The Independent
3 hours ago
- The Independent
Air traffic outage live: Flights resume after technical fault grounds 150 planes and triggers airlines' backlash
Flights have now resumed at UK airports after a technical glitch in the National Air Traffic Service (Nats) systems caused more than 150 cancellations yesterday. Nats said the radar-related issue was detected at 4.05pm and resolved within 20 minutes by switching to a backup system. More than 100 flights were cancelled after the 20-minute air traffic control outage grounded planes and suspended take-offs across the UK. Nats has said its systems are fully operational again and air traffic capacity is returning to normal - but there was a backlog of flights following the outage, with many delayed. 'This was a radar-related issue which was resolved by quickly switching to the back-up system during which time we reduced traffic to ensure safety,' Nats said, adding that there was 'no evidence this was cyber-related'. Thousands of passengers were left stranded across Europe after planes were diverted, some returning to their departure cities. Travellers stranded on planes told The Independent of 'terrible communication' from airlines and 'chaos' in the airports. Gatwick, Birmingham, Edinburgh, Heathrow, and Manchester Airports were all among the airports across the UK affected by the outage. Flights resume at UK airports after technical glitch Flights have now resumed at UK airports after a technical glitch in the National Air Traffic Service (NATS) systems caused more than 150 cancellations on Wednesday. NATS said the radar-related issue was detected at 4.05pm and resolved within 20 minutes by switching to a backup system. Despite the quick fix, airlines and passengers faced major disruption during one of the busiest travel periods of the year. Ryanair's chief operating officer, Neal McMahon, called the incident 'utterly unacceptable' and demanded the resignation of NATS CEO Martin Rolfe, blaming 'continued mismanagement' and a failure to learn from the August 2023 outage. EasyJet's David Morgan also criticised the repeat failure, saying: 'It's extremely disappointing to see an ATC failure once again causing disruption to our customers.' Although flights are departing again, airlines have urged passengers to check with their carriers before heading to the airport. NATS has confirmed the issue was not cyber-related and stressed that safety procedures were followed throughout. Maroosha Muzaffar31 July 2025 05:00 Airlines demand answers from air traffic controller Nats As of 10pm on Wednesday, 84 departures and 71 arrivals were cancelled at UK airports, with London's Heathrow experiencing the highest number of disruptions. Several incoming flights were also rerouted to cities across Europe, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. EasyJet's chief operating officer, David Morgan, expressed frustration over the situation, saying: 'It's extremely disappointing to see an ATC failure once again causing disruption to our customers at this busy and important time of year for travel. While our priority today is supporting our customers, we will want to understand from Nats what steps they are taking to ensure issues don't continue.' Airlines are seeking answers from UK air traffic control provider Nats after a technical glitch led to over 150 flight cancellations, causing major disruption for thousands of passengers on Wednesday. Maroosha Muzaffar31 July 2025 04:30 In pictures: Travellers stranded in Heathrow Airport Alex Croft31 July 2025 04:00 Man fears missing brothers wedding after flight cancellations A man whose plane was cancelled from Heathrow Airport after air traffic control provider Nats suffered a technical issue, said he was worried he would miss his brother's wedding. John Carr, a chiropodist from Stourbridge, was on his way to Norway with a group of friends to help set up his brother's wedding, for which he is best man, when he found out after checking in his flight was cancelled. The 35-year-old told the PA news agency from outside Terminal 3 he was stressed. He said: 'I'm pretty gutted. We've got loads of stuff in the suitcases to set up the venue, because we're obviously flying to Norway. We've got the wedding rehearsal to do. It's quite stressful.' His friend James Hedges, also from Stourbridge, added: 'We found out today; we'd already checked in and gone through the security checks. 'We were in the departures lounge, and we were literally sitting down having a burger when it came up on the (screen). Our flight was still showing as if it was leaving, and they were waiting to give us a gate and that that would be given at 4.45pm. When that time came around, it then switched to cancelled.' Alex Croft31 July 2025 03:01 Ryanair calls on Nats CEO to resign after system failure Ryanair has called on Nats CEO Martin Rolfe to resign after a system failure has caused flight delays across the UK. 'It is outrageous that passengers are once again being hit with delays and disruption due to Martin Rolfe's continued mismanagement of NATS. Yet another ATC system failure has resulted in the closure of UK airspace meaning thousands of passengers' travel plans have been disruptedm' said Ryanair COO Neal McMahon. 'It is clear that no lessons have been learnt since the Aug' 23 NATS system outage and passengers continue to suffer as a result of Martin Rolfe's incompetence. 'If NATS CEO Martin Rolfe fails to resign on the back of this latest NATS system outage that has disrupted thousands of passengers yet again, then UK Transport Minister Heidi Alexander must act without delay to remove Martin Rolfe and deliver urgent reform of NATS's shambolic ATC service, so that airlines and passengers are no longer forced to endure these preventable delays caused by persistent NATS failures.' Alex Croft31 July 2025 02:01 Alex Croft31 July 2025 01:00 Knock-on effects of air-traffic control shutdown at London City, Luton and Southend airports The Independent's travel correspondent Simon Calder writes: Passengers on later flights on Wednesday face long delays as a result of the air-traffic control shutdown. For example, the afternoon flight from Lyon to Luton diverted to Paris CDG as a result of the UK airspace shutdown. It eventually arrived at 8.50pm, three hours behind schedule. The subsequent trip to Jersey was delayed three hours, with a correspondingly late return – instead of arriving at Luton from Jersey at 8.30pm, the expected time is close to midnight. At Southend, easyJet's flights from Faro was diverted to Bordeaux. An incoming plane from Gran Canaria ended up on the island of Jersey, and a round-trip to Amsterdam was cancelled. London City airport was badly affected, with one British Airways flight from Glasgow returning to its starting place, and links to Rotterdam, Palma and Amsterdam cancelled. Alex Croft31 July 2025 00:44 Continued disruption expected, says transport secretary We've heard from transport secretary Heidi Alexander, who said on X that she is aware of the technical issue which shut down air traffic control operations. 'I have been informed systems have now been restored but continued disruption is expected, and passengers should check with individual airports for advice,' Ms Alexander added. Alex Croft30 July 2025 23:59 More than 150 flights cancelled to and from UK airports Flight analysts Cirium have said 84 departures and 71 arrivals were cancelled across UK airports on Wednesday, This brings the total 155, the BBC reported. Most of these cancellations were at London Heathrow, with 29 departures and 17 arrivals. But Cirium does not give a cause foe the cancellations in its data, so some may not have been related to the power outage. Alex Croft30 July 2025 23:48 'It's going to be chaos': Briton's flight turns back to Oslo mid-air A Briton who was on a flight from Oslo to London - which has turned around mid-air towards the Norwegian capital - is expecting 'chaos' when the plane lands. Tanya Goldhaber said she was two-thirds of the way to London when the pilot informed passengers that the flight would be turning back to London due to a radar issue - and lack of fuel. 'My child went into meltdown for a little while which wasn't great but she's sleeping now,' Ms Goldhaber told The Independent. 'It's a plane full of Norwegian and British people so it's actually very calm and stoic, but basically we have zero information from anyone about what's going to happen when we're on the ground - but I'd imagine it's going to be chaos when we get to Oslo,' she added. 'They're suggesting the plane will land and go back at 7pm but I'm not sure anyone believes that. So we may or may not be back in the UK this week, we'll see - I would not recommend doing this with a four-month-old baby." Alex Croft30 July 2025 22:59
Mint
3 hours ago
- Mint
London airports chaos: Over 150 flights cancelled — what caused 20-minute outage? What's happening now?
More than 150 flights were cancelled on Wednesday, July 30, after a 20-minute air traffic control outage grounded planes and suspended take-offs across the UK. Thousands of passengers faced disruption at - or while trying to reach - UK airports when an air traffic control glitch led to more than 100 flights being delayed and cancelled. According to Bloomberg, movements at Heathrow, the biggest airport in the UK and the busiest in Europe, were affected. London Gatwick airport said that 'there are currently no departures from London Gatwick while the situation is being resolved." The smaller City airport also faced disruptions. Here's what happened exactly and what was the glitch that led to the chaos at UK airports: A "technical issue" at the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) centre in southern England temporarily suspended flights at key UK airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Manchester, Cardiff, and Edinburgh. The temporary outage at NATS lasted only 20 minutes but it has caused major disruption and hours of chaos at UK airports. A spokesperson for the NATS shared details about the potential cause of Wednesday's air traffic disruption. They told the BBC it was a radar-related issue, which was resolved by quickly switching to the back-up system. During this time, the spokesperson says, they reduced traffic to ensure safety. "There is no evidence that this was cyber related," they added. As of 19:30 BST on Wednesday (12:00 am Thursday), 67 departures and 55 arrivals were cancelled across all UK airports, BBC reported. And around 22:00 BST (2:30 am IST), more than 150 flights to and from the UK were reportedly cancelled. As many as 84 outbound flights and 71 arrivals were cancelled across the UK. London Heathrow saw the highest number of cancellations so far - 29 departures and 17 arrivals, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. NATS, the leading provider of UK air-traffic control, said its systems are fully operational again and air traffic capacity is returning to normal - but there was a backlog of flights following the outage with many delayed, The Independent reported. 'This was a radar-related issue which was resolved by quickly switching to the back-up system during which time we reduced traffic to ensure safety,' Nats said, adding that there was 'no evidence this was cyber-related'. The UK's transport secretary, Heidi Alexander, said passengers should check with individual airports for advice. National Air Traffic Services is the main provider of air traffic control services to airports in the UK. One of its main roles is operating control centres to manage UK airspace.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Airlines demand answers after air traffic control failure
Airlines have demanded answers from the air traffic control (ATC) provider NATS after a system outage grounded flights across the UK. NATS, which has apologised, said it had taken 20 minutes to resolve the issue by switching to a back-up system. It resulted in more than 150 flights being cancelled and thousands more being grounded on Wednesday. EasyJet said the error was "extremely disappointing" while one of Ryanair's bosses called for NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign. According to NATS, the issue was "radar-related" and it reduced flight traffic to ensure safety. It added there was no evidence the incident had been cyber-related. The government said it was "working closely" with NATS to understand what had gone wrong. Ryanair executive Neal McMahon said it was "outrageous that passengers were once again being hit with delays and disruption due to Martin Rolfe's continued mismanagement" of NATS. Referring to a previous incident two years ago, Mr McMahon said it was clear "no lessons" had been learnt and passengers continued to "suffer" as a result of Mr Rolfe's "incompetence". In August 2023, more than 700,000 passengers were affected by the cancellation of more than 500 flights at the UK's busiest airports due to a major outage. EasyJet's chief operating officer, David Morgan, said: "It's extremely disappointing to see an ATC failure once again causing disruption to our customers at this busy and important time of year for travel." "We will want to understand from NATS what steps they are taking to ensure issues don't continue," he added. What are my rights if my flight is cancelled or delayed? Frustrated passengers "I'm feeling pretty angry," said Sarah McPherson whose son was meant to compete with England's under 15 boys international touch rugby team in Ireland. "He is so very disappointed and at this stage we don't know if there will be another flight," she added. Jonathan Carr from Stourbridge was trying to get to Norway for his brother's wedding. He told the BBC it was "stressful" that his flight was cancelled but he hoped to arrive in Bodø late on Thursday. "It's really frustrating," said Julia Lo Bue-Said chief executive of Advantage Travel Partnership. "We need to ensure there's sufficient resilience built into critical infrastructure that doesn't impact businesses, that doesn't impact travellers." According to flight data firm Cirium, 84 departures and 71 arrivals were cancelled across all UK airports. That equates to 3% of all departures and 2% of all arrivals. In addition a number of flights had to be diverted to European airports, it said. Cirium does not attribute causes for cancellations, so some may not have been due to the air traffic outage. Flight disruption after major UK air traffic outage Air traffic shutdown sparks NATS homeworking change How a four-hour fault triggered three days of air chaos
