UK Flights Resume After ATC Meltdown, But Flight Cancellations Top 2,000
by Bruce Parkinson
London Heathrow Airport.
More than 2,000 flights have been cancelled to and from UK airports over the last two days, after a technical glitch at the National Air Traffic Service.
Reports suggest that things are improving this morning, but travel advisors should not assume a London flight is back to normal, due to knock-on effects.
Clients travelling through Heathrow or Gatwick today are advised to check with their airline before leaving for the airport, and advisors should pay particular attention to onward European connections. As well, yesterday’s disruption displaced aircraft and crews across Europe, so some effects could persist beyond today.
The scale of yesterday’s disruption was considerably larger than early reports suggested. Cirium says more than 1,750 flights were cancelled Tuesday, and more than 150 cancellations have been made for today.
Reuters reports that Ryanair alone said about 150,000 passengers were affected. British Airways said it cancelled or diverted around 100 flights, affecting tens of thousands of customers.
