26 September 2008

Flights disrupted following air traffic control fault

Air traffic control operations returned to normal at 19.00 last night after a fault in one of the systems that feeds controller workstations at the Swanwick air traffic control centre.

Restrictions were imposed by National Air Traffic Services (NATS)on the number of aircraft entering UK airspace through London area control sectors Ã¢â¬' airspace above 24,000ft above England and Wales - and those taking off from major UK airports.

This maintains safety whilst controllers operate with manual systems at reduced capacity. But it means that flights incur delays, NATS said.

NATS operational performance director Ian Hall said: Ã¢â¬ÅâœSafety has not been compromised at any stage and we sincerely apologise to those who have been inconvenienced.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœNATS handles nearly 2.5 million flights a year and our systems are incredibly resilient. We take every step to avoid any problems but are always aware, that in maintaining and updating highly complex systems, we can experience difficulties.

Ã¢â¬ÅâœWe do sincerely apologise for inconvenience to travellers.Ã¢â¬~

A BAA spokesman said that to an "interruption to the air traffic control service", flights from many UK airports were subject to some delays and cancellations.

Aircraft continued to land and depart, but the process was slower than normal, which meant that some flights were delayed and cancelled.

by Phil Davies