Depths were stopped on Wednesday afternoon on the largest British airports, following a technical fault at the Nats Swanwick Air Traffic Control Center. The resumption of flights could take until this evening.
Air traffic paralyzed in the UK Photo: Archive
A major malfunction in the UK air traffic control system caused to block offs on the country's main airports, including London, Manchester, Liverpool, Birmingham and Edinburgh. The incident took more than half an hour and generated delays and confusion among passengers.
The NATS Swanwick system, the source of the problem
National Air Traffic Services (NATS) said that the malfunction appeared at the NATS Swanwick Control Center. “These are technical issues at the Nats Swanwick Air Traffic Control Center, which affects the offspring ”the institution announced in a statement, according to the BBC.
NATS engineers intervened to remedy the situation and, according to the authorities, the problem has been solved in the meantime. However, it is expected that the complete resumption of the take -offs at national level will only take place around 8 pm (Romania time). “Our engineers work hard to solve the problem as soon as possible and we closely work with airlines to help minimize disturbances ”NATS representatives said.
Affected flights, dissatisfied passengers
Although it is not known exactly how many flights have been affected, British Airways has confirmed that most of his races are disturbed. “Like all airlines, we face the impact of a Problems related to air traffic control affecting the vast majority of our flights. Although this is entirely outside of our control, we want to apologize to our customers for any inconvenience“, The company said.
From the first information, only the offspring was blocked, while the landings were held normally. The affected airports are those in London, Edinburgh, Birmingham, Liverpool, Manchester and East Midlands.
A new incident after the one of 2023
It is for the second time in the last two years when the NATS system is facing such a situation, a similar incident taking place in 2023. Although the exact extent of the disturbances has not yet been established, the British press emphasizes that the problem arose in an extremely crowded period, which could generate chain effects for several hours.
Eurocontrol reaction
Eurocontrol, the European Air Traffic Control Agency, said the malfunction is an isolated incident in the UK. In continental Europe, no problems have been reported, but the authorities warn that delays could occur on large airports due to the domino effect generated by the Kingdom incident.
The situation is continued to be monitored, and passengers are advised to verify direct flight information with airlines.
