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LONDON (AP) — Gatwick Airport, London's second-busiest, is limiting flights this week, partly because of an outbreak of COVID-19 within air traffic control. In a statement late Monday, the airport said a daily 800-flight limit, affecting both departures and arrivals, has been imposed until Sunday. Gatwick said around 30% of staff in the division within air traffic control are off sick for a variety of reasons, including COVID-19. It said the daily cap will prevent last-minute cancellations and delays for passengers while National Air Traffic Services, or NATS, gets back to normal. NATS apologized to passengers but said that a variety of medical reasons meant it can't manage the normal flows in and out of the airport.

Persons: Stewart Wingate, NATS Organizations: —, Airport, Sunday, Gatwick, National Air Traffic Services Locations: London's, Britain

☆ U.K. Flight Chaos Was a ‘One in 15 Million’ Problem, Controllers Say
▼ + stars: | 2023-09-06 | by ( Emma Bubola | More About Emma Bubola | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The technical failure that led to hundreds of flight cancellations and severe disruptions for thousands of people traveling in and out of Britain last week resulted from a “one in 15 million chance,” the country’s air traffic control service said on Wednesday. “We have processed 15 million flight plans with this system,” Martin Rolfe, the chief executive of Britain’s National Air Traffic Service, told the BBC’s “Today” program. And the service, he said, had “never seen this before.”On Wednesday, the service published a report based on an internal investigation of the event, detailing what Mr. Rolfe described as “an incredibly rare set of circumstances.”According to the report, the air traffic control system encountered two separate pieces of navigational data in one aircraft’s flight plan that had the same name. As a result, the system’s primary and backup computer systems both shut down to avoid passing incorrect information to the controllers.

Persons: “, ” Martin Rolfe, Rolfe Organizations: Britain’s National Air Traffic Service, ” Locations: Britain

More than 1,500 flights were cancelled on Monday - a public holiday in parts of Britain, and one of the busiest travel days as the school holidays draw to close - when air traffic controllers were forced to switch to manual systems due to a technical problem. Ryanair, Europe's biggest airline, would be operating a normal schedule by Wednesday, said boss Michael O'Leary, as he criticised how Britain's National Air Traffic Services (NATS) had handled the situation. Harper chaired a meeting on Tuesday with NATS, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), airlines, airports, trade bodies and Border Force. EasyJet (EZJ.L) said that the knock-on impact meant some flights were cancelled on Tuesday morning. Heathrow Airport, Britain's busiest hub, told passengers to contact their airline before travelling to the airport on Tuesday.

Persons: Maria Ball, Charles De Gaulle, Mark Harper, Michael O'Leary, haven't, O'Leary, Raphael Satter, Rishi Sunak, Sunak, Harper, NATS, Cirium, Sarah Young, Padraic Halpin, Farouq Suleiman, Kate Holton, Alistair Smout, Alison Williams, Mike Harrison Organizations: British, Ryanair, Europe's, Air Traffic Services, REUTERS, Civil Aviation Authority, CAA, Border Force, Aviation, British Airways, Heathrow, Thomson Locations: Europe, Britain, Liverpool, England, Paris, Edinburgh, London, Stansted, NATS

☆ UK air traffic control failure: Disruption to last for ‘days’
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Tamara Hardingham-Gill | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +4 min

CNN —Travelers have been warned that the chaos brought about by a UK air traffic control failure earlier this week will continue for days. After waiting at the airport for an update, Palladino, who lives in the UK, was informed that the flight was canceled. “Due to yesterday’s technical issues suffered by UK Air Traffic Control, there may be some continuing disruption on some routes, including flight cancellations,” reads a statement from London’s Heathrow Airport on Tuesday. Passengers are however advised to check the status of their flight with the airline before travelling to the airport. “Our priority is always to ensure that every flight in the UK remains safe and we are sincerely sorry for the disruption this is causing.

Persons: Mark Harper, ” Harper, NATS, Rosa Palladino, Palladino, ”, Lee Vanstone, “ Organizations: CNN — Travelers, Transport, BBC, Air Traffic Services, CNN Travel, Gatwick Airport, Pisa Airport, UK Air Traffic Control, Gatwick, Gatwick LGW, British Airways Locations: Naples, Italy, Pisa

☆ UK flight disruption will take 'days' to fix after technical glitch causes travel chaos
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-29 | by ( Karen Gilchrist | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The United Kingdom's air traffic control systems have grounded thousands of flights on one of the busiest travel days of the year. LONDON — A technical glitch which has caused hundreds of U.K. flights to be disrupted could take "days" to fix, causing chaos for passengers during the busy summer travel period. Hundreds of flights were delayed and canceled Monday after a systems failure at the U.K.'s air traffic control services left operators unable to automatically process flight plans. Britain's National Air Traffic Service said several hours later that it had resolved the issue, but warned that it would take time for normal flight schedules to resume. The issue comes during the U.K.'s busy public holiday travel period, with many people returning from summer vacations.

Persons: Juliet Kennedy, Kennedy, Mark Harper, Harper Organizations: LONDON, Air Traffic Service, London's, London Gatwick, BBC Radio, Civil Aviation Authority Locations: Heathrow, Manchester

London CNN —Air passengers across Europe faced delays on Monday on one of the summer’s busiest travel days after the UK’s air traffic control system suffered a “technical issue” resulting in restrictions on flights. “Our priority is always to ensure that every flight in the UK remains safe and we are sincerely sorry for the disruption this is causing. A spokesperson for Manchester Airport, in northern England, told CNN: “We are aware of a nationwide air traffic control issue that is affecting flights in and out of airports across the country. Ireland’s air traffic control service provider AirNav had said that there were “significant delays” to flights traveling within UK airspace on Monday. “Flights between Ireland and UK airports, and flights traveling to or from Ireland that travel through UK airspace are experiencing significant delays,” it said.

Persons: NATS, Lee Vanstone, ike W, ingle Organizations: London CNN — Air, Air Traffic Services, ”, Pisa Airport Locations: Europe, Pisa, Pisa Airport

☆ Flights to and from UK impacted by air traffic 'technical issue'
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

The new remote control tower is seen between traffic cones at London City Airport, Britain, April 29, 2021. REUTERS/John Sibley/File Photo Acquire Licensing RightsLONDON, Aug 28 (Reuters) - Britain's National Air Traffic Service (NATS) was forced to restrict the flow of aircraft on Monday as it works to address a technical issue, it said, with airlines and airports warning of delays and cancellations. "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," a spokesperson said, adding that UK airspace was not closed. Earlier Scottish airline Loganair said on social media site X, previously known as Twitter, that there had been a network-wide failure of UK air traffic control computer systems, warning international flights may face delays.

Persons: John Sibley, Loganair, NATS, Kylie MacLellan, Mitch Phillips, Louise Heavens, Jason Neely, Alison Williams Organizations: London City Airport, REUTERS, Air Traffic Service, Engineers, Scottish, London Luton, Birmingham, British Airways, Dublin Airport, Reuters, Thomson Locations: Britain, Budapest

☆ U.K. Airports Hit by Flight Delays Over ‘Technical Issue’
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-28 | by ( The New York Times | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: 1 min

The British air traffic control service experienced a “technical issue” on Monday, causing delays to flights and significant disruption to air travel in and out of Britain. “We are currently experiencing a technical issue and have applied traffic flow restrictions to maintain safety,” the National Air Traffic Service said in a statement. “Engineers are working to find and fix the fault.”The European air control agency, Eurocontrol, reported that Britain was experiencing “a flight data processing system failure” with “very high individual delays.”“Currently there is no indication of when a solution for the failure will be available so no improvements for flights entering U.K. airspace are foreseen in the near future,” the agency added.

Organizations: National Air Traffic Service, “ Engineers Locations: Britain

☆ A passenger plane came within 10 feet of crashing into a drone in a 'near miss' at 16,000 feet
▼ + stars: | 2022-10-25 | by ( Beatrice Nolan | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +2 min

An Easyjet flight had a "near miss" with an "unidentified flying object," according to a new report. The pilot said the plane missed the unmanned flying object by around 10 feet. A report by the UK Airprox Board said the object was likely a drone. A National Air Traffic Services investigation report said the pilot first reported the incident over the radio during the flight. After landing the flight the pilot confirmed the plane had not made contact with the drone and the thud likely came from the cabin, per the report.

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