More than 2,000 flights cancelled as air traffic boss makes promise over future outages – latest

Public services ‘should be in public ownership’, says researcher of air traffic control chaos

A left-wing writer and researcher has said that public services “should be in public ownership” following the air traffic control chaos.

“Britain’s air traffic control system collapsed on the busiest day of the year because once again a private company prioritised huge bosses’ salaries and shareholder dividends over basic infrastructural investment”, David Osland, former Labour Research Department and Labour Briefing contributor, tweeted.

“Public services should be in public ownership”, Mr Osland added.

Eleanor Noyce30 August 2023 15:45

Air traffic control chaos a ‘catastrophic disaster’ for aviation industry, expert says

Experts believe that the air traffic control chaos sweeping Europe could be a “catastrophic disaster” for the aviation industry.

“Despite the technical error now being resolved, does this leave more questions than answers? How secure is the air traffic system and how safe is it with more flights taking to the skies than ever before”, tourism and aviation specialist Beverley Boden told The Mirror.

“There is little consolation from Nats, a global leader in air traffic management, who many will look to to respond to the crisis as to why and how this happened. This catastrophic and costly error requires a full enquiry, as many passengers will seek compensation while airline bosses look to government for answers”, she added.

Eleanor Noyce30 August 2023 15:25

Gatwick profits leap despite ‘challenges’ across Europe

Gatwick Airport has seen half-year profits jump by nearly two-thirds as travel demand surged, but said air traffic remains below pre-pandemic levels due to “challenging” restrictions across Europe.

The airport, near Crawley in West Sussex, reported pre-tax profits of £100.2 million for the six months to June 30, up 65% from £60.7 million a year ago.

Underlying earnings rose 59% to £235.7 million from £148.3 million a year ago, with early 2022 still affected by pandemic travel restrictions.

The group said air traffic remained below levels seen in 2019 before Covid-19 struck, at 86%, as it faced a “challenging” operating environment in Europe, beset by air traffic control (ATC) restrictions and industrial action, causing cancellations and delays across airlines.

Holly Williams reports:

Eleanor Noyce30 August 2023 15:05

Simon Calder: What is causing the air traffic control chaos? The authorities have some explaining to do

The last week of August is a time of high demand for air travel, especially from returning holidaymakers. Because of the UK’s limited airport infrastructure, especially in southeast England, there is precious little slack in the system: Heathrow and Gatwick are, respectively, the busiest two-runway and single-runway airports in the world.

So the UK’s normally well-regarded air traffic control (ATC) system needed to be working perfectly on bank holiday Monday.

At 11.24am on Monday I began to get reports from airlines of an “ATC failure affecting entire UK airspace”. Within 15 minutes I asked Nats, the national air traffic service, what was happening.

Simon Calder reports:

Eleanor Noyce30 August 2023 14:47

Caught in the air traffic control nightmare? Your rights when flights go wrong

The National Air Traffic Services (NATS), the country’s leading provider of air traffic control services, said it had applied traffic flow restrictions on Monday to maintain safety.

The group announced later that the issue had been “identified and remedied”. But passengers are still facing travel chaos, with more than 500 flights already cancelled and many more delayed.

Here, The Independent’s travel expert Simon Calder explains what you can do if you are caught up in the chaos.

Eleanor Noyce30 August 2023 14:30

Lib Dems: Air Traffic control boss ‘should not receive any bonuses unless affected passengers receive compensation’

Air Traffic control boss Martin Rolfe should not be entitled to any bonuses unless passengers are fully compensated for missed flights following the travel chaos that has struck UK airports this week, say the Lib Dems.

This year, Mr Rolfe’s basic annual pay of £477,000 was boosted by £281,000 in a yearly bonus, alongside pension bonuses and a backdated £555,000 on a long-term incentive plan. This comes on top of a £1.2m bonus he received last year.

Liberal Democrat Transport spokesperson, Wera Hobhouse MP said: “No-one should be left out of pocket through no fault of their own. Martin Rolfe should not receive any bonuses unless affected passengers receive compensation from those responsible.

“Ministers have led a pitiful response to this disruption, with thousands of families’ holidays ruined and left to pick up the bill for other people’s failings.

“That has to change. Until it does, bonuses leading to million pound pay packets need to be withheld. Anything less would be a slap in the face to all those caught up in this week’s mayhem.”

Eleanor Noyce30 August 2023 14:12

In pictures: Passengers stranded as more than 2,000 flights cancelled

An “unusual piece of data” caused widespread flight disruption, an air traffic control (ATC) boss said, as airlines are under growing pressure over their treatment of passengers waiting in airports across Europe to return home.

Many UK holidaymakers are stranded overseas after around 2,000 flights were cancelled because of the issue.

There is speculation the ATC failure was caused by a French airline submitting a flight plan to National Air Traffic Services (Nats) in the wrong format.

Downing Street did not rule out that possibility, while Nats declined to comment on whether that was what happened.

Travellers have been cautioned that flight disturbances might endure for several days

(EPA)

26-year-old drama student Matthew Creed, from Harthill in Scotland, has been sleeping at Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam after his flight with KLM Royal Dutch Airlines to Edinburgh was cancelled

(PA)

A departure board at Heathrow Airport as disruption from air traffic control issues continues across the UK and Ireland

(PA)

A technical breakdown in the UK’s air traffic control system resulted in hundreds of thousands of passengers being either stuck or experiencing delays during the summer bank holiday

(EPA)

Passengers queue at Heathrow Airport, 30 August 2023

(EPA)

Eleanor Noyce30 August 2023 14:00

Couple estimates ‘about £2,200’ loss due to flight disruption

A “gutted” sales executive said he estimates he and his wife are “about £2,200 out of pocket” due to an air traffic control glitch which resulted in their flight from Crete being cancelled.

Tom Perry, 31, who is based in Cornwall, said that he and his wife discovered their easyJet flight for Monday night from Heraklion airport to Luton had been cancelled about an hour before they planned to leave for the airport.

The couple ultimately booked flights home for Friday for £1,172 and are “gutted” to have to pay for new flights with a different airline without getting a refund for their original booking, Mr Perry said.

Mr Perry said they have had to pay “around £300” towards extending their stay at a villa in Sissi, Crete, as well as paying for a parking space for additional days at Luton airport and their dog to stay at a kennel.

Mr Perry’s wife, Ella, 27, is an NHS nurse who could “lose pay or annual leave”, he said.

He had become concerned that his flight might be affected by the air traffic control glitch on the day of his flight.

He said: “Earlier in the day, probably six or seven hours previous, we saw that there were delays so I was keeping an eye on that.”

He said the couple’s flight was initially pushed back until 7am the following day “but as the day went on it got better and better and better and then eventually got to an hour and a half delay from the original time of the flight.”

Then, about an hour before they left for the airport, the easyJet app announced that their flight had been cancelled, Mr Perry said.

He said: “The communication was very, very poor, I would say. We got an email eventually, probably about an hour after the app updated, to say it was cancelled, to say, ‘Yes, it’s cancelled.”’

Mr Perry discovered their easyJet flight for Monday night from Heraklion airport to Luton had been cancelled about an hour before they planned to leave

(PA)

Eleanor Noyce30 August 2023 13:40

British family stuck in south of France until Sunday after flights cancelled

A British family are stuck in France until Sunday and must fly back from an airport hours away from where they were staying after the air traffic control failure.

Rory Dollard, 40, a cricket journalist at PA Media, said he and his wife Joanne, 40, and children Emily, 10, and Arthur, eight, of Skipton, North Yorkshire, were left waiting for five hours at Bergerac Dordogne Perigord Airport on Monday after their Ryanair flight could not take off.

After being sent to spend the night at a hotel in an industrial estate, they returned to the airport to find out about flights, but there were no staff around.

Mr Dollard said: “We hired a car at the airport and travelled to visit some friends and that’s how we’re spending the next few days.

“Six days, it’s remarkable really, I’ve been to the airport again today and the flights had restarted for Ryanair, but they were all full already so it wasn’t a case that we could book on to the next flight.

“We’re having to wait for the next available route, which is a couple of hours’ drive away at a different airport, Limoges, on Sunday afternoon.

“It feels like there’s been a lack of information for passengers, really, I understand that there’s a lot of people affected across the continent, it feels like the weight of people affected has overloaded the system.

“We were told we would hear from somebody the following morning and we still haven’t heard from anyone and frankly we’re not expecting at this stage to hear from anyone at all, I guess we’ll be dealing with it once we get back to England.”

Queues at Bergerac Dordogne Perigord Airport, where journalist Rory Dollard at his family are suffering delays

(PA)

Rory Dollard's wife Joanne and their children Emily, 10, and Arthur, eight at Bergerac Dordogne Perigord Airport

(PA)

Eleanor Noyce30 August 2023 13:20

Stranded passengers ‘sleeping on floors’ at airports as they wait for flights home

Many affected travellers are being told to wait several days for flights home.

Some have been forced to sleep on floors or makeshift beds at airports, or take long routes by land after their flights were cancelled.

Airlines were criticised for failing to book hotel rooms for many people who were delayed overnight.

Transport Secretary Mark Harper said on Tuesday night: “Airlines are clear about their responsibilities to their customers and I stand ready to provide further appropriate support from the Government should the industry request it.

“Although the air traffic control system is back up and running, the knock-on effects of (Monday’s) disruption are likely to continue over the coming days.”

Rory Boland, editor of consumer magazine Which? Travel, said: “We’re seeing worrying reports of passengers being left stranded without support, and airlines failing to properly communicate with their passengers or fulfil their legal obligations such as offering timely rerouting or providing overnight accommodation.

Maanya Sachdeva30 August 2023 13:00