Simon Calder talks about failure of UK air traffic control computer system
Travel expert Simon Calder has warned British tourists they are in for “serious disruption” following a technical fault with air traffic control.
Air traffic controllers across the country have experienced a “network-wide failure” which is likely to cause “chaos across Europe”.
Earlier today, NATS, the National Air Traffic Controllers, said: “We are currently experiencing a technical issue and have applied traffic flow restrictions to maintain safety. Engineers are working to find and the fix the fault. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause.”
Speaking to Sky News, Simon said there was no safety risk due to the issue but said the resulting chaos on flights could even last for days.
Simon said: “From the messages I am receiving from people at airlines, we have effectively seen the entire system shutting down.
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“There is no danger because the entire aviation system is designed to cope with a situation like this. But what you will find is that immediately there is going to be absolute disruption, chaos spreading across Europe.
“Because if you are on the ground at Heathrow or Gatwick, there is very little slack in the system.
“Meanwhile, thousands of aircraft in the skies above Europe, hundreds of them heading to the UK, and what’s going to happen with those aircraft is some of them are getting down if they’re in the vicinity of the airfield, then they will be landing.
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“But otherwise you are going to start seeing aircraft either being held on the ground in airports such as Amsterdam or indeed being diverted if they’re on a longer flight and that would typically be to a continental airport.”
Aircraft could be diverted to an airport in Ireland or to another airport in Europe if they’re unable to land in the UK.
Simon added: “But we are of course on one of the busiest days of the entire year. Loads of families coming in from the Mediterranean and beyond and this is the last thing anybody needs.
“Even if they get the fault fixed in the next few minutes, it will have caused enough disruption for the system to be in disarray for certainly the rest of the day. Be prepared for some serious disruption.”
Simon warned the resulting issues could even continue in the coming days as more flights could be delayed.
Gatwick Airport has said flights are still taking off and landing at the airport despite the issue.
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