UK flights hit by computer glitch
Flights to and from UK airports are being cancelled and delayed because of a computer problem at the main air traffic control centre at Swanwick.
Departures have been suspended and arrivals delayed at Luton airport due to air traffic control restrictions.
Heathrow, Gatwick and Stansted airports have also reported delays, along with Cardiff, Bristol, Southampton, Manchester, Edinburgh and Glasgow.
Air traffic controllers said they hoped to restore the system by early evening.
National Air Traffic Services (Nats) said engineers were investigating the cause of the computer fault at the London Area Control Centre, which deals with planes flying over the south east of England.
The London Terminal Control Centre, also based in Swanwick which is responsible for landing and departing aircraft, is still operating fully but it is restricting departures due to the additional workload.
Nats said restrictions on take-offs and landings had been introduced to ensure passenger safety while controllers operated manual systems at reduced capacity.
BBC transport correspondent Tom Symonds said the problems stemmed from a glitch with computers which deal with information about flights when they are at higher altitude.
Air traffic controllers could still see where planes were, but were finding it difficult to identify them, he said.
This has resulted in a reduced flow of aircraft from airports, with planes at Heathrow leaving every two minutes rather than every 90 seconds.
Flight cancellations
Luton airport has so far cancelled seven European flights to Budapest, Lisbon, Zurich, Barcelona, Berlin, Amsterdam and Dortmund.
Flights from Cardiff International Airport were also temporarily halted by the fault, a spokeswoman said.
“All flights are currently grounded, inbound and outbound. We are not entirely sure at the moment when they are going to be back up and running,” she added.
A spokesman for Manchester Airport said some European and international flights had been affected as they were routed to fly over south east of England.
A spokesman for airport operator BAA, which runs Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Southampton airports, said “many UK airports” would be affected by the problem.
“Aircraft continue to land and depart, however the process is slower than normal, which means that inevitably, some flights will be delayed and some will be cancelled,” he said.
“We are working hard with the airlines to minimise disruption and restore the operation as quickly as possible.”
British Airways says it is cancelling “a few” short haul flights to domestic and European destinations from Heathrow.
Airport authorities have advised passengers to contact their airlines before travelling.
BBC
Note: Faro is starting to be affected. Stay tuned on my blog or on BBC website as further updates are coming.
