Flight chaos in UK to last for days: Minister

Passengers wait at Stansted Airport, north of London, on August 29, 2023, after UK flights were delayed over a technical issue. (Photo by AFP)

The British Secretary of State for Transport Mark Harper has warned that the widespread air travel disruption in the United Kingdom will last for days.

On Monday, the UK’s air traffic control systems were hit by a technical problem, forcing controllers to switch to manual systems.

The disruption canceled more than 1,500 flights into and out of the country on Monday, one of the country’s busiest travel days.

“There is going to be some knock-on impact today and I suspect for another few days as airlines get their planes and get their services back to normal,” Harper told the BBC on Tuesday.

The minister noted that government officials did not believe a cyber attack was behind the technical glitch.

Harper said an issue on this scale had not happened for a decade.

According to aviation analytics firm Cirium, 790 flights departing UK airports were cancelled and 785 flights due to arrive were cancelled on Monday. The figures mean over a quarter of all flights into or out of the country were affected.

Heathrow Airport, the UK’s biggest airport, asked travelers on social media platform X, formerly known as Twitter, to contact their airline before heading to the airport on Tuesday.

Airlines said they were reshuffling their schedules to try and fly as many passengers as possible but some planes and crews were not where they should have been.

“We’re working as hard as possible to get affected customers on their way again,” British Airways said on X.

Heathrow Airport - the world’s busiest two-runway airport - said on Tuesday that its schedule remained “significantly disrupted”, while EasyJet said some flights are still “unable to operate”.

Holidaymakers described a nightmare Bank Holiday Monday, with many waiting hours for news of when they might get moving.