Flights disrupted by 'technical issue' with air traffic control across Scotland - BBC

A "technical issue" with air traffic control in Scotland which has been causing delays to flights in the UK has been fixed, but disruption continues.

The national air traffic service (Nats) said engineers were called in to deal with the issue at the Prestwick Centre in South Ayrshire which handles air traffic control across Scotland and the north of England.

A spokesperson for Nats said the issue had now been resolved and they were working with airlines to safely lift air traffic regulations and minimise further disruption.

The service said the issue was not related to a software defect that led to the cancellation of 2,000 flights across the UK earlier this month.

Flights in Scotland, Northern Ireland and northern England disrupted by air traffic control issue

The Nats spokesperson said: "The issue in our Prestwick centre is now fixed. We are working with airports and airlines to safely lift air traffic regulations as quickly as we can to minimise any further disruption.

"Passengers should still check the status of their flight with their airline. We apologise for the disruption."

UK Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander posted on social media that the problems were "deeply frustrating for passengers after the previous issue".

Scotland's First Minister John Swinney said: "We'll engage with the national air traffic control service to ensure that these issues are addressed and that the resilience is necessary for these systems is available at all times."

Passengers have also taken to social media to confirm they are experiencing delays at Glasgow, Prestwick and Edinburgh airports.

Delays are also being reported at Manchester, Newcastle and Belfast airports.

The Manchester Airports Group said there have been delays of up to an hour on some flights at Manchester Airport and there are also delays at East Midlands Airport.

Several arrivals and departures at Belfast City Airport are cancelled, including flights to and from Manchester, Amsterdam, London City and, later on towards lunchtime, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Dundee and Benbecula airports have also confirmed flights are impacted.

A spokesperson for Edinburgh Airport said: "We are experiencing some delays due to the Nats issue at Prestwick Centre.

"We are monitoring the situation closely and are working with Nats as they work to resolve the issue."

A spokesperson for AGS, which operates Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton airports, said: "Some services operating to and from our airports are experiencing delays, primarily at Glasgow Airport, and further disruption is expected due to the knock-on impact across the network.

"This is the second time in as many weeks that a Nats technical issue has had a significant impact on services operating through our airports, and we fully appreciate the frustration this will cause those whose travel plans have been disrupted."

A spokesperson for Highlands and Islands airports said flight schedules are being impacted across their 11 regional airports.

Ryanair said they had been notified of a Nats "equipment failure" affecting airspace above Scotland and northern England.

The airline said it was impacting flights to and from the UK and Ireland.

A Nats spokesperson earlier said: "Airports south of Manchester are broadly unaffected, however flights heading north and flights departing Scottish airports are currently subject to some delay."

Nicole McCloskey, from Kilmarnock, was due to be on a cancelled flight to Paris with her husband and daughters Aoife and Nuala.

She said: "We've rebooked another flight for this afternoon. Fingers crossed it's sorted in time.

"We were supposed to be going for four nights and going to Disney. Even if it is a shorter trip, we will get there."

Frank Bonner was due to be jetting off from Glasgow to Las Vegas to be best man at a friend's wedding but is now frantically trying to get another flight.

"It's our flight to London that's cancelled. We'll hopefully get there later but we're going to lose a day because the connection to Vegas won't be until tomorrow, we'll need a hotel tonight.

"The wedding is at the weekend but we had other plans like a helicopter ride that we won't make.

"Talk about best man nerves, I don't want to be having to deal with this."

Lewis Fraser from Inverness is on board a plane stuck on the runway at Glasgow Airport.

He told BBC News: "We boarded the flight as normal but were immediately told we were delayed.