Airports warn of delays as technical fault hits UK air traffic control
Flights across Scotland, and the rest of the UK, are subject to delay or cancellation - though NATS says the issue has now been remedied
Air passengers at all of Scotland’s airports are being warned they face delays after UK air traffic control systems were hit by a technical fault.
The National Air Traffic Services, the country's leading provider of air traffic control services, said it has applied traffic flow restrictions on Monday to maintain safety following a technical issue.
In a statement the service told MFR News: "We are currently experiencing a technical issue and have applied traffic flow restrictions to maintain safety. Engineers are working to find and fix the fault.
"We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.
“Please check with your airline on the status of your flight. We will provide updates on www.nats.aero for the latest news and on X - @NATS.
"UK airspace is not closed"
"To be clear, UK airspace is not closed, we have had to apply air traffic flow restrictions which ensures we can maintain safety."
Later on in the afternoon the service said: "We have identified and remedied the technical issue affecting our flight planning system this morning.
"We are now working closely with airlines and airports to manage the flights affected as efficiently as possible. Our engineers will be carefully monitoring the system’s performance as we return to normal operations."
A Glasgow Prestwick Airport spokesperson also said: “Like all UK airports, Glasgow Prestwick Airport is experiencing flight delays due to an ongoing technical issue affecting ATC.”
While a spokesman for AGS Airports, which represents Aberdeen and Glasgow, said: ““Air traffic control provider NATS is currently experiencing a technical issue across its UK-wide airspace network.
“It is anticipated that services operating to and from our airports will be impacted.
“We would ask passengers to check with their individual airlines for updates.”
Scottish airline Loganair warned customers they may experience delays as a "network-wide failure" has affected air-traffic control systems on Monday morning.
The Glasgow-based airline posted on X, formerly Twitter: "There has been a network-wide failure of UK air traffic control computer systems this morning.
"Although we are hopeful of being able to operate most intra-Scotland flights on the basis of local co-ordination and with a minimum of disruption, north-south and international flights maybe subject to delays.”
Prime Minister urged to call COBRA meeting to address issue
Lib Dem Scottish Affairs Spokesperson Christine Jardine is calling on the Prime Minister to act urgently on the issue.
She told MFR News: “This is a busy period for Scottish airports, and we need Rishi Sunak and his ministers to get to grips with this as soon as possible.
“Hold a COBRA meeting, and make sure that the issues are managed effectively.”
Gary Wallace is stranded on his stag do in Barcelona, and is trying to make it back home to Dundee.
The group already had an extra night last night because of problems with the plane – but he says they are not being kept up to date with the air traffic control situation: “We’re just hanging fire just now, hanging tight, see what happens.
“But it’s very likely we’re all going to have to get back on a bus. Yesterday we were up for it, today we’re not. We just want to get home.”