HUNDREDS more flights have been cancelled as Britain’s air travel nightmare spills into a second day.
The fault that hit National Air Traffic Services (NATS) yesterday has been fixed, but the knock-on effects are continuing, causing widespread cancellations and delays.
Today’s cancelled flights have come primarily at Heathrow Airport Credit: Getty
Over 1,900 flights to and from UK airports were cancelled by 5am today Credit: Getty
The air traffic control system is operating normally again as airlines attempt to get aircraft and crews back into position to deal with the huge backlog.
According to aviation analytics company Cirium, more than 1,900 flights to and from UK airports have been cancelled since the fault occurred, with the total passing that mark by 5am today.
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Passengers are still being urged to check their flight status directly with their airline before heading to the airport.
Are flights still being disrupted today?
Yes, although the NATS technical problem itself is no longer affecting the system.
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Hundreds of flights remain cancelled on Wednesday as airlines struggle with the knock-on effects of Tuesday’s outage.
There were 246 cancellations at Heathrow by 6am, while Gatwick had 33 – meaning at least 279 cancellations were listed at the two London airports alone.
Heathrow has been worst hit, with 16 flights scheduled between 7am and 8am also listed as cancelled.
Heathrow says: “Following yesterday’s technical issue affecting NATS air traffic control, Heathrow’s operations are recovering.
“Flights are operating today, however some knock-on disruption is expected as airlines reposition aircraft and crew.
“Passengers are advised to check the latest status of their flight directly with their airline and to only travel to Heathrow if their flight is confirmed as operating today.
“We apologise to passengers affected by the disruption.
“Additional colleagues are available across our terminals to provide support, and we are working closely with NATS and our airline partners to return operations to normal as quickly as possible.”
Gatwick also warned it will take time for operations to return to normal and advised passengers to check with their airlines before heading to the airport.
Meanwhile, Stansted and Manchester airports said they were operating as normal on Wednesday morning, although passengers should continue checking their flight status.
Dublin Airport said there is the possibility for more disruption, but it is operating a “full schedule” today.
What caused the UK air traffic control disruption?
NATS said the fault was in its flight processing system, triggering major restrictions across Britain’s aviation network.
The problem occurred at around 1pm on Tuesday, and was confirmed to be “operating normally” by NATS just after 7.30pm.
NATS said: “Recovery from today’s system issue has taken longer than we had hoped.
“Our system issue is now resolved, we are operating normally and working as hard as possible to clear the backlog of flights.”
The organisation’s chief executive Martin Rolfe has ruled out a cyber attack.
He told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme: “We have at this point ruled out cyber. We don’t believe it was a cyber attack.”
Rolfe promised a “very, very thorough and full investigation” and said the incident appeared to be a type of problem NATS had not encountered before in its 50 years of operation.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is due to meet Rolfe today as pressure mounts for answers over the fault.
Ryanair and Wizz Air have both criticised NATS following the disruption, with Ryanair renewing calls for Rolfe to resign.
What are my rights if my flight is delayed or cancelled?
Passengers retain important rights even when the disruption is outside their airline’s control.
Under UK261 rules, airlines must provide food and drink when qualifying delays become long enough, as well as accommodation and transport if passengers are stranded overnight.
The duty of care applies after two hours for flights of less than 1,500km, three hours for journeys between 1,500km and 3,500km, and four hours for longer flights.
If an airline does not provide assistance and you have to pay reasonable costs yourself, keep your receipts so you can claim the money back.
Passengers whose flights are cancelled must also be offered a refund or alternative transport to their destination.
However, cash compensation is different.
Passengers are not generally entitled to fixed compensation where a cancellation or delay was caused by “extraordinary circumstances” outside the airline’s control.
An air traffic control system failure may fall into that category, meaning those affected by the NATS outage should not assume they will receive compensation.
However, that does not remove an airline’s obligations to provide care, refunds or rerouting where the rules apply.
