Flights disrupted across Scotland due to air traffic control issue

Key Points

Flights delayed across Scotland after air traffic control issue reported
Glasgow Airport warns of ‘knock-on’ impact across the network
Nats says issue ‘unrelated’ to previous incident
Loganair cancels ten flights as Glasgow routes affected

Flights have been disrupted across Scotland due to an air traffic control issue.

The National Air Traffic Services (Nats) said an issue at the Prestwick Centre, which handles air traffic control across Scotland, had been reported.

It said flights departing from Scottish airports are “currently subject to some delay”.

A spokesperson for Glasgow Airport said: “A technical issue affecting NATS air traffic control services at the Prestwick Centre is causing disruption to some flight departures and arrivals.

“As a result, 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.

“We apologise for any inconvenience caused to passengers.

“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.

“We advise passengers to check with their airline for the latest flight information before travelling.”

Passengers said: “Stuck at Gatwick after a long flight from Florida. Time of flight keeps changing back to Glasgow and currently looking at at least another hour delay. Been at Gatwick for 3 hours so far and likely another 2 hours at the moment.”

Another wrote: “Try three hours boarded around 9.05 am and not due to take off from Heathrow to Edinburgh until 12.30pm/1pm so far.”

Another said: “Been at the airport since 8am. Flight meant to leave at 10am showing as 2pm now.”

Regional airline Loganair cancelled a number of flights.

As of 9.15am, the airline said it had cancelled ten flights which were due to take place on Monday, saying this was “due to Nats air traffic control issues affecting UK airspace”.

This included flights between Glasgow and City of Derry Airport, and flights between the Isle of Man and London City.

In a message on its website, Highlands and Islands Airports Limited said flights were disrupted at all the airports it operates.

This includes Dundee, Inverness and Islay.

A statement said: “Due to a technical issue at Prestwick, flight schedules are currently being impacted across all our airports. Please contact your airline for the latest flight information.”

Passengers have reported delays of up to 12 hours, with some stuck on the tarmac for several hours.

It comes after holidaymakers were hit by delays and cancellations across the UK earlier this month due to a “software defect”.

Nats said the issue on Monday was “unrelated” to the previous incident.

A Nats spokesman said: “Our engineers are continuing to investigate the issue at our Prestwick centre in Scotland.

“Airports south of Manchester are broadly unaffected, however, flights heading north and flights departing Scottish airports are currently subject to some delay.

“Passengers should check with their airlines. This is unrelated to the issue two weeks ago. We apologise for the disruption.”

A spokesman 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.

“Passengers should check with their airline for the latest information on their flight.”