Some flights in the UK are temporarily grounded or transferred. what happened? – National

Air traffic control operators say a technical issue briefly took root and diverted flights in the UK before engineers were able to restore the system.

The airport said it would take some time to interfere with many aircraft and crew members in their positions.

The National Air Transport Service (NATS) said the failure occurred at its control center in Swanwick, southwest London, and asked the service to limit the number of aircraft flying to ensure safety.

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The problem has affected outbound flights throughout the UK, with some inbound flights being held mode or transferred, said Gatwick Airport in London.

Another London regional airport, Stansted, said “many departures and arrivals” were affected and advised passengers to contact their airlines.

About 20 minutes after the agency issued a preliminary alert, the agency said engineers had resolved the problem and were “returning to normal operations.”

Transport Minister Heidi Alexander said: “I know of a technical issue that affected NATS operations and caused the trip to be interrupted this afternoon.

“I have been told that the system has been restored, but expect continuous disruption and passengers should seek advice from various airports for review,” she said.

Since its opening in 2002, the NATS system has suffered several software-related failures.

In August 2023, a glitch means that the flight plan must be processed manually rather than automatically. During the peak of summer vacation, hundreds of flights were delayed or cancelled, and about 700,000 passengers were affected.