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| Flights disrupted after computer failure at UK control centre | Flights disrupted after computer failure at UK control centre |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| Passengers are facing widespread flight disruption after a computer failure at the UK's air traffic control centre. | Passengers are facing widespread flight disruption after a computer failure at the UK's air traffic control centre. |
| Nats said it was in the process of returning to normal operations after a "technical problem" at its Swanwick control centre caused delays and grounded some flights. | Nats said it was in the process of returning to normal operations after a "technical problem" at its Swanwick control centre caused delays and grounded some flights. |
| Problems were reported around the UK. | Problems were reported around the UK. |
| The government said the scale of the disruption was "unacceptable" and said it had asked for a "full explanation" of what had gone wrong. | |
| This included delays at Heathrow and Gatwick, where departing flights were grounded for a time. Other UK airports reported knock-on effects. | |
| It comes a year after a telephone glitch at the Hampshire control room caused huge disruption - one of a number of technical hitches to hit the part-privatised Nation Air Traffic Services since the centre opened in 2002. | It comes a year after a telephone glitch at the Hampshire control room caused huge disruption - one of a number of technical hitches to hit the part-privatised Nation Air Traffic Services since the centre opened in 2002. |
| Reported problems around the country include: | Reported problems around the country include: |
| Nats' managing director apologised for the disruption and said it was still investigating the cause. | |
| Martin Rolfe ruled out a power outage, confirming there was a failure in the flight element of the system which left controllers with reduced data available to them. | |
| Mr Rolfe also said a computer hack had been ruled out. | |
| Travel body Abta encouraged passengers expecting to take a flight to contact their airline. | Travel body Abta encouraged passengers expecting to take a flight to contact their airline. |
| British Airways said if its customers did not want to travel from Heathrow, Gatwick or London City on Friday evening they could rebook or get a full refund. | |
| Flight-tracking maps show Friday's disruption | |
| Vicky Lane, a passenger on a grounded London to Dublin plane at Gatwick said: "We've been stuck on a Ryanair flight... for over an hour. | Vicky Lane, a passenger on a grounded London to Dublin plane at Gatwick said: "We've been stuck on a Ryanair flight... for over an hour. |
| "The doors are open and we're really cold. I'm not sure when we will be leaving." | "The doors are open and we're really cold. I'm not sure when we will be leaving." |
| Another passenger, on a flight to Paris, said his plane had "circled around the Lake District for half an hour before turning back to Edinburgh". | Another passenger, on a flight to Paris, said his plane had "circled around the Lake District for half an hour before turning back to Edinburgh". |
| Ed Bott told the BBC he was: "Currently sitting on the tarmac. None the wiser. Waiting for news as to what's happening." | Ed Bott told the BBC he was: "Currently sitting on the tarmac. None the wiser. Waiting for news as to what's happening." |
| Swanwick air traffic control centre | Swanwick air traffic control centre |
| Swanwick controls the 200,000 square miles of airspace above England and Wales, cost £623m to build, and employs about 1,300 controllers. | Swanwick controls the 200,000 square miles of airspace above England and Wales, cost £623m to build, and employs about 1,300 controllers. |
| But the facility, which handles 5,000 flights every 24 hours, has had a troubled history. | But the facility, which handles 5,000 flights every 24 hours, has had a troubled history. |
| It opened in 2002, six years after its planned commissioning date - a delay which National Air Traffic Services (Nats) said was due to problems with the software used to power its systems. | It opened in 2002, six years after its planned commissioning date - a delay which National Air Traffic Services (Nats) said was due to problems with the software used to power its systems. |
| Almost a year after it opened, a senior air traffic controller raised concerns with the BBC about health and safety standards and complications with radio communications - which he said cut out erratically. | Almost a year after it opened, a senior air traffic controller raised concerns with the BBC about health and safety standards and complications with radio communications - which he said cut out erratically. |
| Technical problems and computer faults hit flights in 2008 and again last summer. And, in December 2013, problems with the internal telephone system then caused further delays. | Technical problems and computer faults hit flights in 2008 and again last summer. And, in December 2013, problems with the internal telephone system then caused further delays. |
| Aviation journalist David Learmount said the IT problem would cause "major disruption" but would be resolved by Saturday. | Aviation journalist David Learmount said the IT problem would cause "major disruption" but would be resolved by Saturday. |
| "This impacts not just people within the UK, it impacts flights heading here from anywhere - anything heading this way will be told some of them can't be accepted, and they will have to go back to where they flew from or consider diverting to other countries," he told the BBC. | "This impacts not just people within the UK, it impacts flights heading here from anywhere - anything heading this way will be told some of them can't be accepted, and they will have to go back to where they flew from or consider diverting to other countries," he told the BBC. |
| The RAF - which has its own air traffic control systems - said the UK military was unaffected. | The RAF - which has its own air traffic control systems - said the UK military was unaffected. |
| According to one travel expert, the compensation bill from the disruption could run into tens of millions. | |
| "The airlines will already be racking up the costs," Independent journalist Simon Calder told BBC News. "Simply refunding passengers' fares is going to cost them hundreds of thousands of pounds. | |
| "The airline also has an unlimited duty of care to put people up in hotels, to feed them and everything else, until they can get them to their destination." | |
| 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 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. | |
| Have you been affected by the London airspace closure? You can get in touch by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. | Have you been affected by the London airspace closure? You can get in touch by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. |
| If you are willing to talk to a BBC journalist, please leave your number. | If you are willing to talk to a BBC journalist, please leave your number. |
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