Manchester Airport Hit By Delays And Cancellations Amid NATS Issue.
Passengers travelling through Manchester Airport have faced delays and disruption after a technical problem affected air traffic control services on Monday, September 21.
The issue occurred at the NATS air traffic control centre in Prestwick, Scotland, and affected flights across northern England, Scotland and Northern Ireland. Manchester was among the airports experiencing disruption, with passengers advised to check directly with their airlines for the latest flight information.
NATS said the technical problem at its Prestwick centre had been fixed and that it was working with airports and airlines to safely remove the restrictions on air traffic. However, the organisation warned that delays could continue while normal operations were restored.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said engineers had fixed the problem and that systems were resuming, but warned passengers that some delays could remain while the system reset.Manchester Airport was one of several major airports affected. Glasgow and Belfast also experienced delays, while other airports including London Gatwick and London City reported some disruption.
The latest incident comes less than two weeks after a separate major technical failure at NATS caused widespread disruption across the UK. That earlier incident affected more than 2,000 flights, according to recent reporting, and led to significant disruption for hundreds of thousands of passengers.
NATS has stressed that Monday's incident was unrelated to the earlier September 8 software failure. The previous incident was traced to a software defect within the National Airspace System, while the latest problem occurred at the Prestwick centre.
Airlines have expressed concern about the repeated disruption. easyJet said the latest failure raised questions about the resilience of NATS systems, while other airlines also warned passengers that their journeys could be affected.
Passengers travelling from Manchester Airport have been advised to check their flight status with their airline before travelling and allow extra time for their journey. Even after the technical issue was resolved, the knock-on effects of delayed aircraft and disrupted schedules could continue throughout the day. The incident has added to ongoing scrutiny of the UK's air traffic control infrastructure, following the separate disruption earlier this month and the subsequent NATS investigation into its cause.
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