Air traffic control centre 'technical issue' disrupts flights

Dozens of UK flights have been cancelled because of a “technical issue” at an air traffic control centre.

National Air Traffic Services (NATS) announced on Monday morning that a “technical issue” at its centre in Prestwick, Scotland, was causing disruption.

A number of flights between London and cities in Scotland and northern England have been cancelled.

A 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.”

It said: “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.

Earlier in September, a software defect caused a major failure at NATS, causing thousands of flights to be delayed or cancelled.

Heathrow was the worst-affected airport, with disruption taking days to resolve because of the number of planes and crew left out of place.

The latest failure has caused a number of flights between London and Scotland and the north of England to be cancelled or delayed.

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