Air Traffic Failure Grounds Heathrow, Gatwick Departures
Air Traffic Failure Grounds Heathrow, Gatwick Departures
The News
All departures at London Heathrow and London Gatwick were grounded Tuesday after a "technical failure" hit Britain's air traffic control service, according to the Daily Mail.
National Air Traffic Services, the country's air traffic provider, said it is "investigating a technical issue which is causing some disruption to flight departures" and that "our engineers are on site."
Heathrow said arriving flights were not affected as of its statement. Thousands of passengers were warned to expect delays, and travelers were told to check in as normal but confirm their flight status with their airline.
Neither NATS nor the airports gave a cause beyond a technical fault, and no restoration time had been announced.
Where the Delays Spread
Passengers at Luton, Manchester and Newcastle also reported delays, the Daily Mail said, and it is understood some inbound flights from continental Europe were being held on the ground. Jersey Airport said UK air traffic control problems were "impacting flights across the UK including services between Jersey and UK."
Timeline
Sky News reports that technical issues at the country's leading provider of air traffic control services are disrupting flight departures across the UK.
NATS issues a statement saying it is investigating a technical issue, that engineers are on site, and that updates will be posted on nats.aero and its X account.
Heathrow posts on X that the air traffic control service's technical issue is "impacting departing flights at UK airports," that arriving flights are not currently impacted, and that it is supporting its local NATS team.
The Daily Mail reports all departures at Heathrow and Gatwick are grounded, with delays also reported at Luton, Manchester and Newcastle.
Reactions
NATS apologized: "We apologise for the delay this will cause to journeys, passengers should check with their airline on the status of their flight."
Heathrow said it was "supporting our local NATS team in their efforts to resolve the issue as quickly as possible" and apologized "to those disrupted."
Stranded passengers vented on X. "We are currently sat on Alicante tarmac going to Manchester and this is affecting us. Not just London!" one wrote, according to the Daily Mail. "Luton airport too! We're stranded on the actual plane," another posted.
What's Next
NATS said it will provide an update as soon as it can, with information posted on nats.aero and its @NATS account on X. Both airports told passengers to get flight status from their airlines rather than the airports.
Because Heathrow is the main gateway between the United States and Europe, US-bound travelers face knock-on delays as grounded aircraft and crews fall out of position — but no airline had announced cancellations of transatlantic service at the time of the statements.
More
It is the latest in a run of disruptions for travelers flying out of the UK. Last week, flights at Gatwick were brought to a standstill after a plane became stuck on the runway; the runway was closed for roughly 50 minutes as fire engines surrounded the aircraft.
In July, Gatwick passengers were left without running water for hours because of a supply problem, unable to flush toilets, wash their hands or refill bottles.
Heathrow was hit by two grass fires this summer. A Sept. 5 blaze diverted a flight from San Francisco toward Manchester and sent one from San Diego to Birmingham. In early August, a fire near Heathrow's southern runway destroyed one hectare of grassland and forced 18 inbound flights to divert.
Poll
Should air traffic control operators owe passengers compensation when a technical failure grounds flights?
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