Flights have resumed after a technical issue at air traffic control caused widespread disruption.
The National Air Traffic Service, or NATS, said the glitch happened at its control centre at Swanwick, Hampshire at 4.05pm before restoring the system 20 minutes later.
NATS initially issued a statement saying they were “limiting the number of aircraft flying in the London control area in order to ensure safety”.
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Gatwick said “a technical issue impacting NATS is affecting all outbound flights across the UK” while Birmingham airport issued a similar statement “departing flights from many UK airports have been suspended”.
NATS restricted flights across an area covering most of England and Wales, before confirming it had “restored the system”.
“Departures at all airports have resumed and we are working with affected airlines and airports to clear the backlog safely,” the body added.
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The disruption comes at a busy time for holidaymakers and will ultimately delay some passengers.
A Heathrow spokesperson said: “We are advising passengers to check with their airline before travelling. We apologise for any inconvenience caused.”
The flight tracking website, flightradar24.com, reported an average delay of 48 minutes at Heathrow for departing aircraft at 5.30pm, an hour after NATS had restored its systems, and 89% of flights were suffering delays.
Paul Charles, a travel expert and chief executive of The PC Agency, a luxury travel group told Sky News it was “a major outage”.
He said it would take time to get operations back to normal and long-haul flights will be prioritised.
“Long-haul traffic above short-haul traffic usually, because those long-haul aircraft are carrying more passengers,” he said.
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British Airways said the number of its inbound and outbound flights at Heathrow will remain restricted to 32 an hour until 7.15pm, when BA says the flow rate returns to the usual rate of 45 an hour.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said she was aware of the technical issue, but that “continued disruption is expected and passengers should check with individual airports for advice”.
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