Hundreds of flights cancelled at UK airports as air traffic control issue causes widespread disruption

Recovery taking 'longer than hoped', says air traffic control providerpublished at 19:50 BST Air traffic control provider Nats says recovery from its system issue that has caused widespread disruption is taking "longer than we had hoped"."Our system issue is now resolved, we are operating normally and working as hard as possible to clear the backlog of flights," it says in a post on X."We are truly sorry for the ongoing flight disruption. We know this is hugely frustrating and apologise unreservedly. Passengers should continue to check with their airline." Starters served on Heathrow tarmac after stranded passengers unable to disembarkpublished at 19:44 BST Image source, Emma ChunEmma Chun is currently tucking into her British Airways starter on the Heathrow tarmac after her flight was cancelled, but passengers aren’t yet able to get off the plane.She says the flight was due to take off for New York at 13:20 BST, but all flights were grounded before the plane was given clearance to take off - with passengers since being told the flight had been cancelled.Emma was still on the plane at 18:30. "We can’t get off the plane as there’s no steps available so they’ve just served our starters," she says, adding that cabin crew have been able to tell passengers very little.Emma adds that British Airways have instead booked them on an alternative flight tomorrow, via Copenhagen, arriving in New York on Thursday evening."We were due to fly to Buffalo for the day on Thursday to go to Niagra Falls so it means we would also miss that," she says. At least 22 flights diverted from Heathrow - here's where they've gonepublished at 19:24 BSTFaye HawkerLive reporter So far this afternoon, at least 22 flights which were due to land at Heathrow have been diverted to other UK and European airports. They are: 15:10 Finnair 1335 Helsinki to Heathrow diverted to Stansted15:25 BA268 Los Angeles to Heathrow diverted to Manchester15:35 BA381 Tirana to Heathrow landed at Gatwick15:45 BA008 Tokyo to Heathrow diverted to Manchester15:45 SQ 308 Singapore to Heathrow diverted to Paris15:45 BA625 Tivat to Heathrow diverted to Gatwick16:00 AM007 Mexico City to Heathrow diverted to Paris16:00 TK1931 Istanbul to Heathrow diverted to Birmingham16:05 BA274 Las Vegas to Heathrow diverted to Gatwick16:10 EK031 Dubai to Heathrow diverted to Birmingham16:15 VS301 Delhi to Heathrow diverted to Stansted16:20 NH211 Tokyo to Heathrow diverted to Stansted16:30 CI081 Taipei to Heathrow diverted to Frankfurt16:40 TK1971 Istanbul to Heathrow diverted to Brussels16:45 BA717 Istanbul to Heathrow diverted to Luton16:55 BA062 Nairobi to Heathrow diverted to Stansted17:00 BA 689 Santorini to Heathrow diverted to Stansted17:35 VS 024 Los Angeles to Heathrow diverted to Manchester17:40 BA705 Larnaca to Heathrow diverted to Manchester17:45 6E001 Mumbai to Heathrow diverted to Amsterdam18:15 BA198 Mumbai diverted to Amsterdam18:40 BA238 Boston to Heathrow diverted to Glasgow Small numbers of aircraft being released as 'trials', BBC understandspublished at 19:12 BSTBreakingKaty AustinTransport correspondent An airport source says Nats are now releasing small numbers of aircraft as “trials” at various airports, with a view to ramping up to more regular flights. My flight has been cancelled on the way to my own weddingpublished at 19:10 BSTCharlotte SimpsonReporting from Gatwick Airport Image caption, Charlotte has her wedding dress, and her fiance, but unfortunately no flightI'm at Gatwick and was due to be on the 17:15 flight to Bari, Italy, as I'm due to get married In Puglia on Saturday.I’ve got my wedding dress with me, I’ve got my fiance with me, but sadly we are not going to be going anywhere tonight.Our flight is among those that have been cancelled this afternoon because of this disruption with air traffic control.It's pretty chaotic at the moment, people have just been wondering around looking for help - but from what we've seen they've just had to wait around to be told over the public address system - like us - that their flight is cancelled.Everyone has been rushing on the phone, trying to call various airlines to try and get re-booked.Luckily our wedding isn't until Saturday, so we do have a bit of time. But it isn't the tranquil start to our wedding celebrations that we had imagined unfortunately. Frustration among passengers in Malta as flights to UK cancelledpublished at 18:57 BSTManish PandeyReporting from Malta International Airport I’m at Malta International Airport, where my flight home to London Gatwick has been cancelled.The departures board initially showed “delayed” to all UK-bound flights when we arrived, before changing the 21:30 BA flight to cancelled. The official at the British Airways counter has told us all flights to the UK have been cancelled because of the air traffic issues.There are a significant number of travellers heading home to the UK. We’ve been told that accommodation is being worked on, and we will be told through the BA app what the next steps are.There is frustration from lots of passengers, and the coffee shop in the airport is filling up quickly with exhausted travellers.For now, the wait continues. British Airways says fault will have 'significant knock-on impact' for customerspublished at 18:45 BST Image source, PA MediaBritish Airways says it has been informed by the air traffic controller that the "fault has been resolved" but due to the severity of the issue, there will be a "significant knock-on impact for customers and colleagues".A spokesperson for the airline says it was forced to cancel or divert more than 100 flights this afternoon, "inconveniencing tens of thousands of customers".This incident was "entirely out of our control and incredibly frustrating for our customers and colleagues," it says, with aircraft and crews ending up out of place."We ask customers whose flights have been cancelled not to travel to the airport and to bear with us if they’re trying to get in touch, as our call centres are incredibly busy at the moment."Customers due to travel today or tomorrow are able to make changes to their booking on ba.com," it adds. Phones being frantically checked and queues for empty check-in desks at Gatwickpublished at 18:39 BSTTheo WhyteReporting from Gatwick Airport There is a long queue snaking back from the service desk at Gatwick airport. People are frantically checking departure screens and their phones for updates. Others are calling airlines in an attempt to find alternate arrangements. At the airline check-in desks, passengers are queuing up in front of empty Iberia desks, hoping someone will appear and give them some information. Government must improve resilience of air traffic control - shadow transport ministerpublished at 18:24 BST Shadow transport minister has criticised the government and Nats for allowing another air traffic control incident after a major outage brought UK airports to a standstill last year.“Yet again passengers are stuck on the tarmac wondering why Britain cannot keep its own skies open," Greg Smith says.He adds that Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander "promised after last year’s Swanwick fault that she would work with Nats to prevent this happening again. It has happened again.“The Government and Nats must explain what has happened and how they will make sure resilience is improved.”Earlier, Alexander said she was "aware" of the technical issue and apologised for the frustration. Heathrow Airport runs out of space due to flights not departingpublished at 18:03 BSTKaty AustinTransport correspondent What’s really noticeable here at Heathrow Airport is that the skies have fallen quiet. My understanding is Heathrow reached the point this afternoon where it couldn’t take in any more arriving flights because things hadn’t been departing - and basically the airport ran out of space. Long queues of frustrated passengers at Dublin Airportpublished at 17:49 BSTAlfie TobuttBBC Your Voice Image caption, Long queues are forming at Dublin AirportThe queue for Ryanair’s ticket desk here at Dublin Airport stretches almost the entire length of the Terminal 1 departures hall.There are so many frustrated passengers in the queue that they are blocking the doors at the entrance to the terminal.While the air traffic control group Nats says it has implemented a fix and systems are “starting to recover”, it will be a while before the situation returns to normal. How Scottish airports are responding to the disruptionpublished at 17:37 BSTKaty ScottBBC Scotland news Flights at Scottish airports have also been disrupted by the technical issue at Nats air traffic control.Glasgow and Aberdeen say some services may experience delays and it is advising passengers to check with their airlines before travelling.Edinburgh says Nats has implemented a fix, but knock-on disruption is likely throughout the day as operations recover.Airports in Inverness and the Highlands and Islands say London flights are experiencing “significant delays”, but passengers should check-in at their normal time and check for updates.Glasgow International Airport has seen 18 flights cancelled today, while 29 have been cancelled at Edinburgh Airport. Disruption likely to persist for hours to come due to flight backlogpublished at 17:32 BSTTheo LeggettInternational business correspondent