Warnings of more airport disruption as air traffic control recovery taking 'longer than hoped'

Live ReportingWatch & listen1SummaryHundreds of flights have been cancelled at airports across the UK due to an issue with air traffic controlNats - the air traffic control provider - says the glitch is with its "flight processing system" and that a fix has been deployed, later adding recovery was "taking longer than hoped"Heathrow, Manchester and East Midlands airports are among those that reported - airports in Scotland and Ireland have also experienced delaysSome airports say they are expecting a full schedule of flights to run on Wednesday, but warn of airports being busier due to rescheduled flightsRyanair says 65,000 of its passengers have been delayed by up to eight hours while British Airways warns of a "significant knock-on impact for customers and colleagues"There's now a backlog of flights and aircraft across Europe in the wrong place - sorting all of this out will take time, writes our correspondentLive ReportingEdited by Caitlin DohertyBristol Airport says flights now arriving and departing, but disruption expected to continuepublished at 21:52 BST Bristol Airport says flights are now arriving and departing at Bristol Airport, following the Nats issue earlier today.In a statement on X, it warns that disruption is "likely to continue" into tomorrow and customers should check the latest flight information with their airline. Heathrow Airport says arrivals suspended for rest of daypublished at 21:41 BST Heathrow Airport says arrivals have been suspended for the remainder of the day "to ensure the safety of our passengers and colleagues". In a statement published on X, the airport says departures have resumed but "disruption is expected to continue", so it advises passengers to check with their airline for the latest information for their flight before travelling to the airport. "We apologise to those affected and are supporting our local Nats team and airline partners as they work through the resulting disruption," it adds. Image source, Reuters Manchester Airport also expects 'full flight schedule' on Wednesdaypublished at 21:31 BST We have just had a statement from East Midlands Airport, saying it expects a "full flight schedule" to operate tomorrow. Manchester Airport, which is part of the same airport operator, Manchester Airports Group, has shared an identical statement also timestamped to 20:20 BST.It says that though the Nats issue from earlier today is fixed, "flight disruption is expected to continue for the rest of the day". 'Stuck at Heathrow for over three hours'published at 21:28 BST Passengers disrupted by delayed and cancelled flights have shared their experiences, watch below: Media caption, 'Stuck on the plane for over three hours': Passengers describe disruption Delays and cancellations across the UK as impact of Nats failure continuespublished at 21:15 BST Image source, Getty ImagesA quick trawl over the websites of flights across the UK shows a huge amount of disruption continues into the evening. Here's an example of some of the flights that were displaying as cancelled or delayed, shortly after 21:00 BST on Tuesday: At Manchester airport: 20:35 Ryanair FR3238 to Charleroi 21:30 Vueling Airlines VY8749 to Barcelona At Birmingham airport: 16:40 Ryanair FR2162 to Palma has been delayed to an estimated time of 23:30 At London Heathrow airport: 20:20 British Airways BA508 to Lisbon 22:30 AM008 to Mexico City At Glasgow airport: 20:05 Easyjet EZY411 to London Stansted 20:40 Ryanair FR5562 to Dublin is delayed to an estimated take-off of 01:50 on Wednesday East Midlands Airport says 'full flight schedule' expected on Wednesdaypublished at 21:11 BST East Midlands Airport says it is expecting to operate a "full flight schedule" on Wednesday. In a statement shared on X, and timestamped to 20:20 BST, the airport says that the Nats issue from earlier today is fixed but "flight disruption is expected to continue for the rest of the day". The airport adds: "A full flight schedule is expected to operate tomorrow but the airport may be busier due to rescheduled flights." Leeds Bradford Airport says four flights have been cancelledpublished at 20:46 BST Leeds Bradford Airport (LBA) says it has had to cancel four flights so far due to the national issue with air traffic control.In an update shared with passengers at 19:30 BST, the airport in West Yorkshire said five further flights were left to depart this evening."There are ongoing residual delays as the airlines recover service," a spokesperson for LBA said, thanking customers for their patience. In pictures: Queues, screens and delays at Heathrow Airportpublished at 20:31 BST While the system issue impacting Nats has been resolved, the air traffic control provider admits the recovery of regular flights is taking longer than hoped. That delay has left passengers across the country frowning at screens and flicking through their phones - like these travellers pictured at London Heathrow today.Image source, ReutersImage source, ReutersImage source, Getty ImagesImage source, PA Media Hundreds of flights cancelled due to technical issue - what we know, what we don'tpublished at 20:21 BSTJack GreyLive reporter Image source, ReutersHundreds of flights at airports across the UK have been cancelled due to an air traffic control issue.Here's what we know: The issue has now been fixed, according to air traffic control provider Nats, who said its systems were "starting to recover", but later added that the recovery was taking "longer than hoped" The BBC understands small numbers of aircraft are being released as “trials” at various airports, with a view to ramping up to more regular flights Nats said the disruption was caused by an issue with its “flight processing system" The fault was widespread across the UK, and beyond, with airports in Scotland and Ireland also reporting disruption Europe's busiest airline, Ryanair, earlier reported that more than 65,000 passengers had been delayed by up to eight hours And what we don't know: The exact cause of the fault that led to the disruption, other than it being a technical issue in Nats' systems How long it will take for flights to fully resume and for the backlog to be fully cleared Wizz Air brands air traffic control provider Nats 'not fit for purpose'published at 20:13 BST Image source, Getty ImagesWizz Air has branded air traffic control provider Nats "simply not fit for purpose in its current form" after a technical issue caused hundreds of cancelled flights.In a statement the airline says it is "extremely disappointed" that "another Nats technical failure" has caused widespread disruption."A critical national infrastructure provider should not repeatedly bring the aviation system to a standstill," it says.It says "urgent reform is needed" and that airlines, passengers and airports "cannot continue to bear the consequences of recurring system failures"."We sincerely apologise to affected passengers, but today’s disruption originates from the UK air traffic control system and is entirely outside Wizz Air’s control," the statement concludes.Nats declined to comment on Wizz Air's statement when contacted by the BBC. 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