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| Airport disruption: Flights recover after Nats system failure | Airport disruption: Flights recover after Nats system failure |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| Airports around the UK are returning to normal, although almost 40 flights have been cancelled at Heathrow, the day after a computer failure at the national air traffic control centre. | |
| National Air Traffic Services (Nats) said a technical fault in the flight data system at its Swanwick centre, in Hampshire, had caused the problem. | National Air Traffic Services (Nats) said a technical fault in the flight data system at its Swanwick centre, in Hampshire, had caused the problem. |
| This resulted in widespread disruption at airports around the UK on Friday. | This resulted in widespread disruption at airports around the UK on Friday. |
| Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said the situation was "unacceptable". | Transport Secretary Patrick McLoughlin said the situation was "unacceptable". |
| The Swanwick centre was restored to "full operational capacity" by Friday afternoon, Nats said. | The Swanwick centre was restored to "full operational capacity" by Friday afternoon, Nats said. |
| Heathrow Airport has warned of knock-on effects on Saturday and urged passengers to check their flight status. | |
| It said 38 flights due to arrive or take off before 09:30 GMT had been cancelled. | |
| A Heathrow spokesman said the flights could not be rescheduled because the airport ran at 98% capacity. He said passengers would be rebooked on other services. | |
| British Airways said there may be "some disruption" to its flights on Saturday. | |
| It said Gatwick and London City flights were expected to operate as normal but advised all passengers to check the status of their flight before leaving for the airport. | |
| Gatwick Airport said it would be operating a full service on Saturday although there would be "some backlog". | |
| Many other airports are also due to run their scheduled Saturday flights on time, according to their websites. | Many other airports are also due to run their scheduled Saturday flights on time, according to their websites. |
| Cause undefined | Cause undefined |
| The glitch caused many delays at Heathrow and Gatwick on Friday, where departing flights were grounded for a time. | |
| Dozens of arrivals and departures at airports across southern England, and as far north as Aberdeen and Edinburgh, were also delayed and cancelled. | Dozens of arrivals and departures at airports across southern England, and as far north as Aberdeen and Edinburgh, were also delayed and cancelled. |
| Many passengers have had to stay in hotels overnight because of rescheduled flights. | Many passengers have had to stay in hotels overnight because of rescheduled flights. |
| The problems came a year after a telephone failure at the Hampshire control room caused huge disruption - one of a number of technical hitches to hit the part-privatised Nats since the centre opened in 2002. | The problems came a year after a telephone failure at the Hampshire control room caused huge disruption - one of a number of technical hitches to hit the part-privatised Nats since the centre opened in 2002. |
| 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 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 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. |
| Nats said on Friday evening that a "thorough investigation" was being carried out to "identify the root cause" of the disruption. | Nats said on Friday evening that a "thorough investigation" was being carried out to "identify the root cause" of the disruption. |
| Managing director Martin Rolfe has ruled out both a computer hack and a power outage as possible causes, but says the precise cause of the problem has yet to be established. | |
| He said the error occurred in the flight data part of the system, where flight plans are stored. | |
| BBC correspondent Andy Moore, at Heathrow, said the issue only lasted for between 30 minutes and one hour but caused chaos because the UK's air traffic control system runs at 99% capacity, giving little scope for managing disruption. | |
| Mr McLoughlin said any disruption to the nation's aviation system was a matter of the utmost concern "especially at this time of year in the run-up to the holiday season". | Mr McLoughlin said any disruption to the nation's aviation system was a matter of the utmost concern "especially at this time of year in the run-up to the holiday season". |
| "Disruption on this scale is simply unacceptable and I have asked Nats for a full explanation... I also want to know what steps will be taken to prevent this happening again." | "Disruption on this scale is simply unacceptable and I have asked Nats for a full explanation... I also want to know what steps will be taken to prevent this happening again." |
| The RAF - which has its own air traffic control systems - said the UK military had been unaffected. | The RAF - which has its own air traffic control systems - said the UK military had been unaffected. |
| The Independent's travel editor, Simon Calder, said it would be an expensive incident for the airlines, estimating they would pay £2m to £5m in compensation. | |
| "It all depends how much they have to hand back to passengers. If a flight is delayed, even if it's nothing to do with the airline that's caused it, the airline is responsible for looking after the passengers." | |
| Have you been affected by the UK airspace disruption? You can get in touch by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. | Have you been affected by the UK airspace disruption? You can get in touch by emailing haveyoursay@bbc.co.uk. |
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