A new air traffic control failure has disrupted operations at several UK airports, The Guardian reports.
Delays were recorded at Manchester, Glasgow and Belfast airports. NATS, the air traffic control operator, said the cause was a failure at one of its centres in Scotland.
London Gatwick and London City airports warned of possible disruption. British Airways also notified passengers of possible delays, while easyJet cancelled several flights.
"This once again calls into question the resilience of NATS systems and demonstrates the need for decisive action to prevent similar failures from recurring," easyJet said.
This is not the first failure in UK airport operations. On the morning of 8 September, a large-scale failure in the UK's air traffic system led to the cancellation of up to 2,100 flights and affected the plans of more than 300,000 passengers. The incident affected more than 15 UK airports, including London airports, as well as Manchester, Luton and Edinburgh. At the time, NATS said the September failure was caused by a software error rather than external interference. Experts concluded that the incident was not the result of a cyberattack or sabotage.
As a result, NATS had to impose restrictions across the UK and restart the National Airspace Management System.