Updated: 12/12/14 2:12 p.m.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it sees no impact so far for U.S. flights bound for London. The city has told the FAA that the situation should be resolved in about two hours.
London’s Heathrow airport reported on its website that flights are “currently experiencing delays and cancellations” and added that Friday’s airspace issue would likely affect some services on Saturday “because aircraft and crew will now be out of position.”
Heathrow advises passengers not to travel directly to the airport due to the disruptions.
“Passengers due to depart today and tomorrow should check the status of their flight with their airline before travelling to Heathrow. We are very sorry for the disruption to passengers’ journeys. We have extra staff on duty to help passengers.” – Heathrow press release
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Updated: 12/12/14 at 11:32 a.m.
NATS confirms via Twitter that systems have been restored at Swanwick, and they are in the process of returning to normal operations.
System has been restored and we are in the process of returning to normal operations. For more information please see http://t.co/2ToleaTUrH
— NATS (@NATSPressOffice) December 12, 2014
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Originally reported:
London airspace is currently restricted due to a computer glitch, and no flights are expected to take off or land until later 7 p.m. (2 p.m. EST).
Air traffic volume at such transportation hubs as London Heathrow Airport has been slowed, but London airspace was not closed, as Eurocontrol, the European air traffic control network originally reported.
In a statement released by NATS, the U.K.-based global air traffic management company, the computer glitch has forced air traffic at Heathrow Airport to be restricted, so NATS can manage air traffic safely.
“NATS can confirm that a technical problem has been reported at Swanwick air traffic control centre. UK airspace has not been closed, but airspace capacity has been restricted in order to manage the situation. We apologise for any delays and our incident response team has been mobilised. Every possible action is being taken to assist in resolving the situation and to confirm the details.”
(Photo Credit: Milosz_M/Shutterstock.com)
