UK airports face second day of chaos after 1,300 flights grounded & passengers ‘trapped’ over air traffic control outage

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TENS of thousands of passengers face a second day of travel chaos after a major air traffic control glitch sparked more than 1,300 cancellations.

The glitch hit National Air Traffic Services’ (NATS) flight processing system, causing widespread disruption across UK airports.

Passengers have been warned of “horrible” knock-on effects as airlines battle to recover from the chaos.

NATS has now implemented a fix to the issue, saying its flight system is “starting to recover”.

But the nightmare is far from over, with airlines battling a huge backlog of flights caused by Tuesday’s meltdown.

NATS said: “We have implemented a fix and our flight system is starting to recover.

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The disruption is expected to continue at major airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester and Stansted.

Travel journalist Simon Calder warned the knock-on effects on Wednesday were “going to be horrible”.

He told Sky News: He told Sky News: “There are going to be dozens of cancellations in the morning of flights coming into Heathrow because, basically, the flights didn’t go out tonight.”

British Airways was forced to cancel or divert more than 100 flights on Tuesday, affecting “tens of thousands of customers”.

Ryanair said more than 65,000 of its passengers had been disrupted and more than 50 scheduled flights cancelled.

The chaos has left travellers stranded abroad, stuck on runways and facing hours-long delays.

Yesterday, passengers told The Sun they had been left stranded overseas as flights were unable to return to the UK.

One passenger at Gatwick, Josie Donoghue, said she spent three hours trapped on a plane before being forced to get off.

She said: “Getting through that airport was like trying to get out of Alcatraz. We were trapped in there.

“We were told we couldn’t get out until the flights were cancelled, and then eventually they allowed us to get out.

“It’s just an absolute nightmare down there, it’s the only word I can use to describe it.”

Others passengers complained they were forced to abandon their luggage after flights were cancelled and rebooked days later.

One traveller said they had been told to leave the airport without their bags, despite their new flight not being until Thursday.

Another fumed: “My flight’s rescheduled in two days, how am I supposed to live without my things?”

One passenger also claimed they spent around eight hours trapped on a grounded plane with their two-year-old before waiting another 90 minutes for their baggage.

The latest meltdown has also sparked a furious row over the future of NATS boss Martin Rolfe.

Ryanair chief operating officer Neal McMahon called on him to resign over what he branded repeated failures.

He said: “How many more failures do passengers have to suffer before overpaid failure Nats CEO Martin Rolfe accepts responsibility for his repeated mismanagement and resigns?”

Mr Rolfe said he “always accept full responsibility” when asked if he was considering his position.

He told Sky News: “I am the CEO of a piece of critical infrastructure, so it is my job to take responsibility for that.”

He said his focus was on resolving the problem, getting services “back to normal” and helping airlines, airports and passengers.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander is due to speak to Mr Rolfe today before addressing MPs in the Commons.

The latest chaos comes three years after another major NATS failure left thousands of Brits stranded over the Bank Holiday.

That 2023 meltdown grounded around 500 flights after a flight plan error caused the airspace to close for around ten hours.

Now passengers face another anxious wait as airlines attempt to untangle the latest mess.