Thousands of holidaymakers are experiencing travel chaos after a ‘technical issue’ caused all flights out of the UK to be grounded.
Several major airports were forced to halt operations due to a technical glitch at a National Air Traffic Services (NATS) control centre that left scores of planes stranded on the tarmac.
NATS refused to rule out that hostile foreign action or hackers could be behind the incident, adding it was a ‘radar-related issue’ that was resolved by quickly switching to a back-up system.
By the time the system was ‘fully operational’ again, thousands of passengers were already facing delays of up to five hours, while more than 150 flights to and from the UK were cancelled.
Furious passengers were forced to put their holidays on hold after months of planning, while others feared missing out on their loved ones’ weddings as a result of the unknown issue.
Some desperate Brits are also now facing a nightmarish dilemma of sleeping in airports or splashing out hundreds of pounds on overnight accommodation after being ‘dumped’ by their airlines at home and overseas.
One unhappy holidaymaker, who asked to remain anonymous, was among several Brits stranded in Croatia with his wife and two children on Wednesday night after easyJet cancelled their flight home.
‘My wife and two children are now faced with sleeping in Dubrovnik airport along with several other families after easyJet cancelled our flight literally at the last minute,’ the father-of-two told the Mail.
British holidaymakers trapped at Dubrovnik airport after an easyJet flight to Gatwick was cancelled
Passengers wait at Heathrow Airport after a radar failure led to the suspension of outbound flights across the UK on Wednesday
Planes line the tarmac at Gatwick Airport after an air traffic control fault caused major disruption to flights in the UK
‘They have been a disgrace and dumped dozens of families, many with young kids, with absolutely no support at all.
‘No rearranged flight or accommodation – their staff made a swift exit after we were told to “download the easyJet app and use that”. Needless to say, the app hasn’t helped anyone.’
He also echoed calls – made by Ryanair’s chief operating officer Neal McMahon – for NATS’ chief executive Martin Rolfe to resign following the outage.
‘I never thought I’d agree with a Ryanair executive, but they are right about this one: NATS chief executive Martin Rolfe is utterly incompetent and needs to be fired – preferably out of a passenger jet engine,’ the disgruntled Brit added.
John Carr, a chiropodist from Stourbridge, was one of thousands of stranded Brits left in limbo after his flight from Heathrow to Norway was cancelled at the last minute.
He and a group of friends were on their way to his brother’s wedding, for which he is best man, when he found out after checking in that his flight was cancelled.
The 35-year-old told said: ‘I’m pretty gutted. We’ve got loads of stuff in the suitcases to set up the venue, because we’re obviously flying to Norway. We’ve got the wedding rehearsal to do. It’s quite stressful.’
He said they did not receive any warning of the cancellation before it happened.
‘We had no idea. There was nothing that the airport had said out on the speaker phones, or anything like that,’ Mr Carr said.
James Hedges (left) and John Carr both from Stourbridge, whose flight was cancelled at Heathrow after the NATS fault
The pair (pictured) were on their way to James’ brother’s wedding, for which he is best man, when they found out the flight was cancelled
Passengers wait in line at Heathrow Airport after a radar failure led to the suspension of outbound flights across the UK
Two BA planes sat stationary on the runway in Heathrow following the NATS chaos
British Airways said the number of its inbound and outbound flights at Heathrow is restricted to a total of 32 per hour until 7.15pm. Pictured: Three BA planes stranded on the tarmac
‘There was no warning from them or the airline that said it was cancelled. It’s rubbish. There’s nothing we can do.
‘We don’t know what we’re going to do tonight in terms of accommodation. We have put our cars in special car compounds for the next six days.’
His friend James Hedges, also from Stourbridge, said the group was in the departures lounge when they were told the flight was cancelled. ‘We’d already checked in and gone through the security checks,’ he said.
Meanwhile Asha, 18, from Manchester, said the chaos had ruined her first holiday interrailing.
She told the BBC her 3.10pm easyJet flight to Amsterdam had actually departed and was in the air for 50 minutes – before turning around. Hours later, she said she was still ‘stuck’ on the tarmac at the city’s airport.
Another passenger, Jane Ainsworth, told the Daily Mail her flight from Kos back to Birmingham had been forced to land in Brussels.
Monica Clare, 68, from London, also had her hopes of watching her loved one walk down the isle thrown into disarray after her Aer Lingus flight from Heathrow to the Republic of Ireland was cancelled.
She was flying out to attend the wedding in Limerick at 2.40pm today, but was stranded on the runway for almost three hours, after which passengers were told the flight was cancelled.
Asha, 18, from Manchester, said the chaos had ruined her first holiday interrailing
A frustrated passenger reported ‘going nowhere’ as they sat inside an airplane on the runway for more than 40 minutes
Another frustrated passenger travelling from Heathrow to Jersey has been sat on the plane since 2:35pm
A pair of airport workers can be seen putting their feet up amid the travel chaos today
‘The wedding is in Limerick on Friday but a hotel and hire car are awaiting us tonight, At 5.30pm the captain told us their shift had finished so Aer Lingus HQ in Dublin cancelled the flight,’ she told The Telegraph.
‘We were told to wait for a phone update about a flight tomorrow but others were told all flights tomorrow are already full. It’s totally awful. We probably have to go home and wait to see when the next available flight is. It looks like we’re missing the wedding.’
Durand Meachem, 49, from North Carolina, was also expecting to fly out of Heathrow on Wednesday with his partner and two daughters to celebrate his 50th birthday.
They had hoped to embark continue enjoying a ‘trip of a lifetime’, encompassing New York, London, Dubai and Thailand, before being caught up in the travel chaos.
Chris Birch and his family faced similar turmoil after their flight out to attend a wedding was cancelled due to a shortage of cabin crew.
‘At Gatwick for 5 hours for a delayed flight due to crew not being available. Now the flight and holiday is cancelled,’ he wrote on X.
‘We have been waiting another hour to collect luggage, that has still not appeared. No prams or escalators so parents carrying babies throughout.
‘Our plane was on the tarmac, and luggage on board, we were simply waiting on a crew. We are going to a wedding and we were not given the option of a re-route. This breaks UK law.’
Passengers queue to board a flight at Gatwick Airport after an air traffic control fault caused major disruption to flights in the UK
Disgruntled passengers queue for flights after the NATS technical issue on Wednesday
Passengers queue for flights at Heathrow Airport hours after an air traffic control fault caused major disruption on Wednesday afternoon
Passengers begin to board a RyanAir plane in Stansted after an air-traffic control ‘technical issue’ disrupted flights across the country
Cockpit crews across the country were told the NATS centre in Swanwick, Southampton, had experienced a ‘radar failure’ at 2.30pm.
‘We would appreciate your patience whilst we work through this unforeseen disruption,’ they were told, according to The Sun.
By 4.43pm, NATS said the issue was resolved but knock-delays will continue, with passengers advised to check with their airline.
A statement read: ‘Our engineers have now restored the system that was affected this afternoon.
‘We are in the process of resuming normal operations in the London area. We continue to work closely with airline and airport customers to minimise disruption.’
While the issue was ongoing, British Airways (BA) said the problem was ‘affecting the vast majority of our flights’, while Birmingham airport said ‘departing flights from many UK airports have been suspended’.
In an update, BA later said that the number of its inbound and outbound flights at Heathrow is restricted to a total of 32 per hour until 7.15pm before the flow rate returns to the usual level of 45 per hour.
Passengers wait at Heathrow Airport after a radar failure led to the suspension of outbound flights across the UK
People queue inside Heathrow Airport following the Air Traffic Control disruption last night
Passengers wait at Heathrow Airport, after radar failure led to the suspension of outbound flights across the UK
One person on X reported a Heathrow bound flight is currently circling Ben Nevis while unable to land safely
A total of 84 departures across all UK airports were cancelled as a result of the incident, while 71 arrivals into Britain were also scrapped, aviation analytics firm Cirium said at 10pm last night.
Consumer organisation Which? advised that passengers who have suffered delays or cancellations could have rights to food or a hotel stay.
‘If your flight is cancelled or delayed, you’re unlikely to be owed compensation by the airline as the technical issue is considered an ‘extraordinary circumstance’ and out of the airline’s control,’ its deputy editor Naomi Leach said.
‘However, you do have a right to food or a hotel stay depending on the length of the delay but be sure you keep the receipts as you will need to claim this back from the airline.’
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said continued disruption was expected following the restoration of Nats’ systems and urged passengers to check with individual airports for advice.
A spokesman from the Department for Transport said: ‘While passengers should continue to check with individual airports for advice, Nats have confirmed their systems are now fully operational and flights are returning to normal.
‘We are working closely with Nats to understand the cause of the technical issue and the implications for the resilience systems in place.’
The Mail has contacted easyJet for comment.