UK airports recover after system failure
Airports around the UK are returning to normal, although almost 40 flights have been cancelled at Heathrow, the day after a computer failure at the national air traffic control centre.
National Air Traffic Services (Nats) said a technical fault in the flight data system at its Swanwick centre, in Hampshire, had caused the problem.
This resulted in widespread disruption at airports around the UK on Friday.
Scene at @HeathrowAirport this evening during flight disruption [apologies - earlier picture was not Heathrow today] pic.twitter.com/jfoEMlGA2K
— BBC Breaking News (@BBCBreaking) December 12, 2014
We are investigating the cause of this fault but can confirm that it was not due to a power outage. More info at: http://t.co/3PZVLXU3IF
— NATS (@NATSPressOffice) December 12, 2014
The system has been restored. It will take time for operations to fully recover.We apologise for any delays. Info at http://t.co/PXC2FbiHxa
— NATS (@NATSPressOffice) December 12, 2014
Flights now departing and arriving. Please check your flight status before travelling to the airport: http://t.co/aRjdBvI9sh
— Heathrow Airport (@HeathrowAirport) December 12, 2014
System has been restored and we are in the process of returning to normal operations. For more information please see http://t.co/2ToleaTUrH
— NATS (@NATSPressOffice) December 12, 2014
We apologise for any current delays. Every possible action is being taken to resolve the situation.
— NATS (@NATSPressOffice) December 12, 2014
Airspace is open. We're restricting traffic volumes in accordance with capability we currently have in our system.
— NATS (@NATSPressOffice) December 12, 2014
Check your flight status before coming to the airport. Flights experiencing severe disruption due to technical issue at air traffic control
— Heathrow Airport (@HeathrowAirport) December 12, 2014
NATS can confirm that a technical problem has been reported at Swanwick ATC centre. More information at http://t.co/33JCopLGeR
— NATS (@NATSPressOffice) December 12, 2014
Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said the situation was "unacceptable".
The Swanwick centre was restored to "full operational capacity" by Friday afternoon, Nats said.
Heathrow Airport has warned of knock-on effects on Saturday and urged passengers to check their flight status.
It said 38 flights due to arrive or take off before 09:30 GMT had been cancelled.
A Heathrow spokesman said the flights could not be rescheduled because the airport ran at 98 percent capacity. He said passengers would be rebooked on other services.
British Airways said there may be "some disruption" to its Heathrow flights on Saturday.
It said Gatwick and London City flights were expected to operate as normal but advised all passengers to check the status of their flight before leaving for the airport.
Gatwick Airport said it would be operating a full service on Saturday although there would be "some backlog".
Stansted said all its flights were running on schedule.
Many other airports are also due to run their scheduled Saturday flights on time, according to their websites.
Transport Secretary brands flight disruption 'unacceptable' and demands 'full explanation' http://t.co/XTqMgnNQ0i pic.twitter.com/UoNrJdpWU4
— The Sun (@TheSunNewspaper) December 12, 2014
CAUSE UNKNOWN
The glitch caused many delays at Heathrow and Gatwick on Friday, where departing flights were grounded for a time.
Dozens of arrivals and departures at airports across southern England, and as far north as Aberdeen and Edinburgh, were also delayed and cancelled.
Many passengers had to stay in hotels overnight because of rescheduled flights.
The problems came a year after a telephone failure at the Hampshire control room caused huge disruption - one of a number of technical hitches to hit the part-privatised Nats since the centre opened in 2002.
Flight-tracking maps show Friday's disruption
Analysis
By Ben Ando, BBC News
As soon as air traffic control has a problem, nothing is allowed to take off that might add to the problem.
This is unlikely to be a power problem as there are duplicate and back-up systems - including even diesel generators at a push.
It is more likely to be software, which caused the last major problem when the incoming morning crew could not switch over from night-time control system.
With aircraft out of position, or flight crews out of hours, there are likely to be knock-on problems for many flights.
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