Thousands of travelers across the United Kingdom have been struck with cancelations or delays to their flights. Over 500 flights that were arriving at or departing from British airports have been affected. The National Air Traffic Service (NATS) released a statement saying that a technical issue with the UK's air traffic control system has greatly restricted flights in and out of the country.

Network-wide failure of the ATC computer systems

A failure in the ATC system left the module down for several hours. The length of the shutdown has resulted in hundreds of flights impacted and a huge backlog of flights that is still building. In the statement that NATS released, it stated,

"The flight planning issue affected the system's ability to automatically process flight plans, meaning that flight plans had to be processed manually, which cannot be done at the same volume, hence the requirement for traffic flow restrictions."

Because of this, passengers across the country are being told to expect delays of up to 12 hours. Additionally, a total of 232 flights that were departing from the country have been canceled. This is the equivalent of 8% of all departing flights. 271 flights that were set to arrive in the UK have also been canceled. This is about 10% of the arriving flights.

Situation remedied

In an updated statement, NATS stated that the technical issue has been "identified and remedied." This updated statement was released around 15:30 on Monday. However, travelers across the country are still expected to face disruptions. Many passengers are stuck wondering what to do in order to make it to their destination.

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All major airlines in the country are affected, but it is important that passengers check for delays prior to arriving at the airport. Transport Secretary Mark Harper posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, stating,

EasyJet has been proactive in the flight cancelations. The airline has already begun offering customers refunds or free flights for those who have been affected by cancelations.

Ryanair has also begun notifying passengers of possible refunds or flight changes for canceled flights. However, many of its active flights are still delayed, leaving passengers stranded in airports across the country.

Aer Lingus also released a statement about the disruptions on Monday. The statement read,

"Due to a failure of the UK air traffic control flight planning systems, which is outside of Aer Lingus’ control, there are severe restrictions on all flights into the UK and flying over UK airspace today. We would ask you to check the status of your flight before coming to the airport today as delays and cancelations are likely."

Since passengers across the country are still stranded at airports, it is important to contact the airline for possible flight changes or refunds. Advice for the next steps has been given on an airline-by-airline basis, so it is important to contact the airline that you are traveling with directly.

Photo: Catharine Pierce | Shutterstock

It is likely that this incident will be considered "extraordinary circumstances". This means that no additional compensation is due by the airline for any cancelations or delays, but the airline is due certain legal obligations. The airline must refund any canceled flights, including connecting flights or offer an alternative flight. If the flight is delayed, airlines are expected to provide food, drinks, and communication after a certain amount of time. This includes overnight accommodation if the flight is delayed that long.