New disruptions are being reported in air travel in the United Kingdom, following a technical problem at the NATS air traffic control center in Prestwick, Scotland, which caused flight delays and cancellations at a number of airports.
This is the second serious incident to affect the British air traffic control system in about two weeks, a fact that is sparking fresh reactions from airlines and reigniting the debate over the reliability of NATS (National Air Traffic Services) systems.
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NATS announced that today’s incident was due to a connectivity issue in part of its network in Scotland and clarified that it is unrelated to the major technical failure that occurredearlier in September.
Flight restrictions for safety reasons
The problem was detected early Monday morning (9/21) at the Prestwick control center. For safety reasons, temporary restrictions were imposed on air traffic, to reduce the number of flights air traffic controllers were handling while technicians worked to repair the malfunction.
“To maintain safety, air traffic restrictions were implemented to manage demand,” a NATS spokesperson initially stated, urging passengers to check directly with their airlines for updates on their flights.
A few hours later, the company announced that the technical problem had been resolved and that it was working with airports and airlines to gradually lift the restrictions. It warned, however, that the delays would not disappear immediately.
Flights were grounded, delays at many airports
The first impacts were felt mainly in Scotland, northern England, and Northern Ireland. Problems were reported, among other places, at the airports in Glasgow and Belfast, while flights at London City Airport were also affected. Early on in the disruption, at least 24 cancellations or significant delays had already been reported, with the number fluctuating as airlines adjusted their schedules.
Airports south of Manchester appear to have been less affected; however, the restoration of an air traffic control system does not mean an immediate return to normalcy, as aircraft and crews must be redeployed and schedules reorganized.
New Criticism Aimed at NATS
The latest outage sparked a strong reaction from airlines. easyJet criticized NATS, arguing that two serious problems in such a short period of time raise questions about the system’s resilience, while Ryanair reiterated its demand for a change in the company’s leadership. British Airways described the latest incident as “disappointing.”
NATS is already under pressure following the major outage on September 8, when a software glitch led to widespread restrictions in British airspace. More than 2,000 flights were affected over those two days, while hundreds of thousands of passengers faced cancellations and lengthy delays.
The preliminary investigation into the previous incident revealed that a glitch in a small section of the software caused data corruption and triggered safety restrictions. NATS has clarified that today’s issue at Prestwick is of a different nature.
Passengers are advised to check the status of their flight before heading to the airport, as, despite the fault having been repaired, delays and cancellations may continue until the schedule returns to normal.
Source: Protothema.gr
*File photo
