Latest news with #Cirium
Hindustan Times
13 hours ago
- Hindustan Times
Over 150 flights cancelled due to UK air traffic control outage
The air-traffic control outage that disrupted UK flights on Wednesday afternoon was caused by an unspecified radar-related issue, leading to more than 150 canceled flights in one of the busiest travel periods of the year. London's Heathrow airport, the country's biggest hub, had the most disruptions with more than 45 flights called off.(AP) The service interruption resulted in the cancellation of 84 departing flights and 71 arrivals across the UK, according to data from Cirium. Some flights were diverted to other European airports, while London Heathrow, the country's biggest hub, had the most disruptions with more than 45 flights called off, the aviation data provider said. The latest breakdown has caught the attention of the UK government, with Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander posting on X that she met NATS Chief Executive Officer Martin Rolfe on Thursday to understand what happened and was assured it was an isolated event. UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer also weighed in on the topic, saying Alexander is 'getting to the bottom of it.' 'The frustration of holiday makers will be palpable, and of course, the airline carriers,' Starmer told reporters in Swindon on Thursday. 'It was dealt with relatively quickly. But that doesn't take away from the fact that it impacted many, many people.' The technical glitch at NATS, a major facility for air-traffic control in the UK, forced authorities to temporarily limit the number of movements into London on Wednesday afternoon, grounding flights across a large swathe of the country, including at airports from London Gatwick and City to Birmingham and Manchester further north. '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,' a NATS spokeswoman said. 'There is no evidence that this was cyber related.' Flights restarted in the afternoon after engineers at the NATS Swanwick site restored the system. But the outage hit air traffic during the busiest summer holiday period, hobbling flights for airlines including British Airways and discount specialist EasyJet Plc. The disruption from the air traffic control failure was 'extremely disappointing,' EasyJet Chief Operating Officer David Morgan said in a statement. Ryanair Holdings Plc called for Rolfe to resign over the outage. The latest fault follows a full-day outage at Heathrow airport in March after a fire at a substation cut electricity supply to the sprawling hub. Two years ago, the UK airspace temporarily shut down because of an air traffic control system glitch. The issue was fixed after a few hours but caused heavy disruption to departures and arrivals across the country. The Swanwick operations room manages the en-route airspace over England and Wales up to the Scottish border as well as lower-altitude traffic to and from London's airports, equal to about 2.5 million flights or 250 million passengers in the UK airspace. The center, which was inaugurated in 2002, and on which Lockheed Martin Corp. was prime contractor, was designed to give NATS 30% more capacity, helping it handle 3 million flights a year by 2020 from about 2 million when it opened.
Daily Mirror
19 hours ago
- Daily Mirror
Your compensation rights as air traffic control chaos causes ‘delays for days'
Exactly 153 flights were cancelled on Wednesday while a further 12 were cancelled on Thursday morning as the UK's air traffic control system was plunged into chaos Brits face having their holidays thrown into chaos as chaos caused by air traffic issues could roll on for days Birmingham, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Stansted, Newcastle, Manchester, Gatwick, Heathrow and Luton were among the airports affected when the NATS air traffic control system crashed yesterday, with all outbound international flights temporarily grounded and more than 100 flights cancelled. Heidi Alexander, the Transport Minister, said 'continued disruption is expected' and urged passengers to 'check with individual airports for advice'. She will sit down with Martin Rolfe, the boss of NATS, to delve into the cause of the issue and discuss measures to avoid future incidents. That comes as Brits speak of the chaos they've been swept up in. Have you been impacted by a delayed or cancelled flight? Email webtravel@ The latest data from flight analysts Cirium show that a total of 87 departures were cancelled from UK airports yesterday — equating to 3% of all departures — with 75 arrivals also grounded. A number of inbound flights to UK airports were also diverted to other European cities yesterday. London Heathrow saw the highest number of cancellations, with a total of 30 departures and 20 arrivals cancelled. In a sign of the knock-on impact of the disruption, 12 departures have been cancelled departing UK airports today, with a further 11 arrivals cancelled. Airlines are clamouring for explanations as countless passengers faced significant setbacks while trying to travel in and out of the UK. The disruption was traced back to a "technical issue" at NATS's Swanwick centre in Hampshire, the company confirmed. NATS alerted the public to the problem around 4pm on Wednesday, and by 5pm, it updated that systems were back up and running, with flight departures resuming at all affected airports. Ryanair has demanded Mr Rolfe's resignation following the glitch, criticising the lack of progress since a similar system failure in August 2023. Neal McMahon, the airline's chief operating officer, expressed his outrage, stating: "It is outrageous that passengers are once again being hit with delays and disruption due to Martin Rolfe's continued mismanagement of NATS." Business minister Gareth Thomas was questioned about whether Mr Rolfe would be "fired" over the incident. Whoever is at fault and whatever the reason for the outage, the impact on holidaymakers is long waits for flights and, in the worst chaos, cancelled holidays. Can I get a refund? If your flight is delayed or cancelled, the good news is that you are entitled to care and assistance while you wait, which means food and drink and the ability to make phone calls, plus accommodation and the necessary transfers if the flight is delayed until the next day. Many airlines will offer vouchers for you to buy food and drink, and overnight accommodation will typically take the form of a nearby hotel. It may prove difficult to claim such vouchers, however, as airlines will be very busy at this time and there may be long waits to get through on phone lines. When it comes to refunds, you can claim money back on all parts of the ticket you haven't used — so the inbound or outbound leg. If your flight has been cancelled and you are leaving from or travelling to a UK airport, your airline must offer you the choice of an alternative flight or a refund. If you select an alternative flight, you can choose to fly as soon as possible or at a later date. Can I claim compensation? Unfortunately not. However, regular traffic control outages may seem, they are considered an extraordinary circumstance. Daniel McAfee, head of legal operations at Lawhive, explains: 'Under UK and EU regulations (UK Regulation 261/2004), airlines are generally not obligated to pay compensation for cancellations or delays caused by extraordinary circumstances. Air traffic control issues fall under this category, meaning passengers are not entitled to compensation for the inconvenience." I've got a flight booked this week — what should I do? While there is disruption today, it seems likely that the knock-on impact will have eased considerably come Friday. If you are concerned about being stuck at the airport or abroad, contact your airline or holiday provider for the latest updates on your flight. You can also search for your flight using the flight number. This should give you the most up-to-date information on its status.
Daily Mail
21 hours ago
- Daily Mail
Up to a million passengers delayed by UK airport chaos may NOT get compensation - thanks to little-known loophole
Around a million furious passengers may not be entitled to compensation amid an air traffic control failure which grounded flights across the UK yesterday. More than 150 flights were cancelled across the country on Wednesday for around an hour amid a technical glitch at air traffic control (ATC) provider NATS' control centre in Swanick, Hampshire, which is understood to have been caused by a 'radar failure'. Around 3,000 planes were scheduled to depart yesterday, with a similar number also due to arrive, meaning a total of 1.1 million seats were potentially impacted by delays and cancellations, according to aviation data company, Cirium. NATS refused to rule out that hostile foreign action or hackers could be behind the incident, adding it was a 'radar-related issue' that was resolved by quickly switching to a back-up system. However, enraged passengers were forced to put their holidays on hold after months of planning, while others feared missing out on their loved ones' weddings as a result of the unknown issue. The airport chaos came at the height of the summer holiday season, with the busiest day for commercial flights expected to be this Friday, as Transport Secretary, Heidi Alexander, said 'continued disruption is expected'. Now inconvenienced travellers who were left stranded are unlikely to receive compensation according to Naomi Leach of Which? Travel, however they may be entitled to some benefits. If your flight was cancelled or delayed you are 'unlikely' to be given compensation as a technical issue is considered to be an 'extraordinary circumstance' and a factor out of the airline's control, she said. 'However, you do have a right to food or a hotel stay depending on the length of the delay, but be sure you keep the receipts as you will need to claim this back from the airline. 'If you are due to travel today or tomorrow, check the advice from your airport or tour operator, or airline apps and airport social media feeds, for the most up-to-date advice.' The Citizen's Advice Bureau echoed a similar message on its website, saying passengers would be unlikely to receive a payout if delays were caused by problems out of the airlines control, such as security risks or bad weather. Amid the chaos, some desperate Brits faced a nightmarish dilemma of sleeping in airports or splashing out hundreds of pounds on overnight accommodation after being 'dumped' by their airlines at home and overseas. One unhappy holidaymaker, who asked to remain anonymous, was among several Brits stranded in Croatia with his wife and two children on Wednesday night after easyJet cancelled their flight home. 'My wife and two children are now faced with sleeping in Dubrovnik airport along with several other families after easyJet cancelled our flight literally at the last minute,' the father-of-two told the Mail. 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 that his flight was cancelled. The 35-year-old 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.' He said they did not receive any warning of the cancellation before it happened. 'There was nothing that the airport had said out on the speaker phones, or anything like that. There was no warning from them or the airline that said it was cancelled. It's rubbish. There's nothing we can do. 'We don't know what we're going to do tonight in terms of accommodation. We have put our cars in special car compounds for the next six days.' 'They have been a disgrace and dumped dozens of families, many with young kids, with absolutely no support at all. 'No rearranged flight or accommodation - their staff made a swift exit after we were told to 'download the easyJet app and use that'. Needless to say, the app hasn't helped anyone.' Meanwhile Asha, 18, from Manchester, said the chaos had ruined her first holiday interrailing. She told the BBC her 3.10pm easyJet flight to Amsterdam had actually departed and was in the air for 50 minutes – before turning around. Hours later, she said she was still 'stuck' on the tarmac at the city's airport. Another passenger, Jane Ainsworth, told the Daily Mail her flight from Kos back to Birmingham had been forced to land in Brussels. Monica Clare, 68, from London, also had her hopes of watching her loved one walk down the isle thrown into disarray after her Aer Lingus flight from Heathrow to the Republic of Ireland was cancelled. She was flying out to attend the wedding in Limerick at 2.40pm today, but was stranded on the runway for almost three hours, after which passengers were told the flight was cancelled. Cockpit crews across the country were told the NATS centre in Swanwick, Southampton, had experienced a 'radar failure' at 2.30pm. 'We would appreciate your patience whilst we work through this unforeseen disruption,' they were told, according to The Sun. By 4.43pm, NATS said the issue was resolved but knock-delays will continue, with passengers advised to check with their airline. A statement read: 'Our engineers have now restored the system that was affected this afternoon. 'We are in the process of resuming normal operations in the London area. We continue to work closely with airline and airport customers to minimise disruption.' While the issue was ongoing, British Airways (BA) said the problem was 'affecting the vast majority of our flights', while Birmingham airport said 'departing flights from many UK airports have been suspended'. In an update, BA later said that the number of its inbound and outbound flights at Heathrow is restricted to a total of 32 per hour until 7.15pm before the flow rate returns to the usual level of 45 per hour. A total of 84 departures across all UK airports were cancelled as a result of the incident, while 71 arrivals into Britain were also scrapped, aviation analytics firm Cirium said at 10pm last night. Now airline chiefs have demanded answers from NATS, with easyJet's chief operating officer David Morgan branding the glitch 'extremely disappointing'. '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,' he said yesterday. Ryanair called for Nats' chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign in the wake of the fault, claiming 'no lessons have been learnt' since the August 2023 system outage. The airline's chief operating officer Neal McMahon said: '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 disrupted. '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.' It comes after a similar incident on August 28 2023 when Nats suffered a technical glitch while processing a flight plan sparking disruption for over 700,000 passengers. The Department for Transport (DfT) noted that the Transport Secretary does not have any direct control over Nats and has no powers on staffing decisions. The Liberal Democrats called for a full investigation into the glitch, with the party's leader Sir Ed Davey dubbing the incident 'utterly unacceptable'. He said: 'It is utterly unacceptable that after a major disruption just two years ago, air traffic control has once again been hit by a technical fault. 'The Government should launch an urgent investigation to ensure the system is fit for purpose, including ruling out hostile action as a cause.' A Department for Transport spokesman said: 'While passengers should continue to check with individual airports for advice, Nats have confirmed their systems are now fully operational and flights are returning to normal.' A National Air Traffic Service spokesman told The Telegraph: 'Our engineers have now restored the system that was affected this afternoon. We are in the process of resuming normal operations in the London area. 'We continue to work closely with airline and airport customers to minimise disruption. We apologise for any inconvenience this has caused.'
Malaysian Reserve
a day ago
- Malaysian Reserve
Over 120 flights disrupted by UK tech glitch
LONDON – Scores of flights to and from UK airports were cancelled Wednesday due to a technical glitch, according to the air traffic control service, prompting anger from airline chiefs. The number of aircraft in London's air space was limited by the service, known as NATS, as a result of a technical issue which was quickly resolved. Airports including London's Heathrow and Gatwick and Edinburgh were affected. Heathrow is Europe's busiest air hub. There were 67 departures and 55 arrivals cancelled as of 7:30 pm (1830 GMT) while a number of flights were also diverted, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. In 2023 NATS suffered the country's worst systems failure in almost 10 years, stranding thousands of passengers. Airline chiefs reacted angrily to the cancellations which came at the peak of the UK summer holiday travel season. Ryanair COO Neal McMahon called for NATS's chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign over the failure. 'It is outrageous that passengers are once again being hit with delays and disruption,' said McMahon. 'It is clear that no lessons have been learnt since the August 2023 NATS system outage.' EasyJet COO David Morgan said it was 'extremely disappointing' to again see a failure '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,' he added. A Department for Transport spokesperson said it was 'working closely' with NATS to understand the cause of the glitch and the 'implications for the resilience systems in place'. The 'technical issue' responsible for the disruption was at the service's control centre in Swanwick in southwest England, it said. It first announced problems at around 4:00 pm (1500 GMT) and in an update an hour later said systems were fully operational and that departures had resumed at all airports. –AFP
Business Times
a day ago
- Business Times
Over 120 flights disrupted by UK tech glitch
[LONDON] Scores of flights to and from UK airports were cancelled on Wednesday due to a technical glitch, according to the air traffic control service, prompting anger from airline chiefs. The number of aircraft in London's air space was limited by the service, known as NATS, as a result of a technical issue which was quickly resolved. Airports including London's Heathrow and Gatwick and Edinburgh were affected. Heathrow is Europe's busiest air hub. There were 67 departures and 55 arrivals cancelled as of 7.30 pm (1830 GMT) while a number of flights were also diverted, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. In 2023, NATS suffered the country's worst systems failure in almost 10 years, stranding thousands of passengers. Airline chiefs reacted angrily to the cancellations which came at the peak of the UK summer holiday travel season. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Ryanair COO Neal McMahon called for NATS's chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign over the failure. 'It is outrageous that passengers are once again being hit with delays and disruption,' said McMahon. 'It is clear that no lessons have been learnt since the August 2023 NATS system outage.' EasyJet COO David Morgan said it was 'extremely disappointing' to again see a failure '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,' he added. A Department for Transport spokesperson said it was 'working closely' with NATS to understand the cause of the glitch and the 'implications for the resilience systems in place'. The 'technical issue' responsible for the disruption was at the service's control centre in Swanwick in south-west England, it said. It first announced problems at around 4.00 pm (1500 GMT) and in an update an hour later said systems were fully operational and that departures had resumed at all airports. AFP
