Full list of flights cancelled today at Edinburgh and Glasgow as air traffic control chaos continues
Knock-on delays expected to continue throughout Wednesday
Major passenger disruption continued Scotland’s main airports on Wednesday after more than 100 flights were cancelled the previous day due to the latest major air traffic control fault to hit passengers.
More than 20 flights at Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Inverness were grounded on Wednesday among nearly 300 across the UK, with the airports warning of further knock-on disruption.
The problem at Nats - the former National Air Traffic Services - happened on Tuesday afternoon, with the greatest disruption caused to Heathrow and Gatwick airports, the UK’s two busiest.
More than 220,000 passengers were disrupted, according to aviation data firm OAG, with some 1,700 flights were cancelled across the UK.
They included some 65 at Edinburgh, 37 at Glasgow and 18 at Aberdeen, according to information from aviation analysts Cirium, OAG and the airports.
OAG said they accounted for more than a quarter of flights at Edinburgh and one third of those at Glasgow on Tuesday.
Five Heathrow-bound long-haul flights were also diverted to Edinburgh: British Airways flights from Tokyo and New York JFK, a JetBlue flight from JFK and two United Airlines flights from New York Newark.
The fault with the Nats flight processing system is the third major problem to affect the firm in just over three years, with a separate fault caused by Edinburgh’s air traffic control firm disrupting flights last December.
Airlines UK, which represents carriers, has expressed serious concerns over the incident
Chief executive Tim Alderslade said: “The latest Nats failure has again exposed a gap in the UK's aviation regulatory framework.
“Airlines are expected, in supporting passengers, to absorb the costs of disruption, even when the cause lies entirely outside their control.
"The result is a system where airlines pick up the bill for the mistakes of others, while the organisations responsible face little or no financial consequence. Accountability should sit where responsibility lies.”
A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport - Scotland’s busiest - said: “While operations have returned to normal following the Nats technical issue, some knock-on disruption is expected to continue throughout today.
“We know this will be frustrating for passengers and would encourage them to check with their airline for the latest information on their flight.”
AGS Airports, which runs Aberdeen, Glasgow and Southampton, said: “Following yesterday’s technical issue affecting Nats air traffic control, our airports’ operations are recovering.
“Flights continued to operate yesterday and today, but we are expecting ongoing disruption as aircraft and crew reposition.
“We advise passengers to check with their airline for the latest flight information and to only travel if they have a confirmed flight operating today.
“We apologise for the inconvenience caused by this Nats-related technical issue and will continue to provide support to our passengers.”
Rory Boland, Editor of Which? Travel said: “The extent of the outage means many more flights are likely to be cancelled or delayed today due to the knock-on impact.
“If your flight is cancelled, you're entitled to choose between being re-routed on a different flight or getting a refund.
“Rerouting will usually be your best option, as once a refund is accepted your airline has no ongoing responsibility towards you or any costs you may incur for accommodation, meals or transport during your delay.
“You'll also avoid paying over the odds for a new ticket if prices shoot up.
“Crucially, if you opt to be rerouted, your airline must get you to your destination at the earliest opportunity, even when that means booking you with a rival carrier.
“It’s important to stand your ground on this point, as all too often we see examples of airlines flouting the rules and forcing passengers to wait longer for a spot on their own planes."
Luke Petherbridge, spokesperson for Abta, the former Association of British Travel Agents, said: “If your flight has been delayed or cancelled, customers will have rights, which will vary depending on whether they booked their flight separately or as part of a package.
“Abta members will be supporting those booked with them, to help make alternative arrangements, and we have advice to help people understand their rights.
“While the immediate priority is supporting customers, as this isn’t the first Nats outage to cause widespread disruption, the industry and the public will want answers as to what has gone wrong, what lessons are being learned, and how the system will be made more resilient to avoid this happening again.”
Flight cancellations listed below include may include those unrelated to the air traffic control fault.
Edinburgh Airport cancellations include
0700 BA8711 British Airways to London City
0715 BA8713 British Airways to London City
0730 EZY323 Easyjet to Belfast International
0830 EZY213 Easyjet from Bristol
0900 EZY214 Easyjet to Bristol
0945 EZY324 Easyjet from Belfast International
1030 RK5632A Ryanair from Santander
1100 EZY3250 Easyjet from Lyon
1540 BA1452 British Airways from Heathrow
1500 UA3019 United Airlines to Newark
1630 BA1453 British Airways to Heathrow
Glasgow Airport cancellations include
0705 EZY401 Easyjet to Luton
0710 BA1499 British Airways to Heathrow
0755 BA1481 British Airways to Gatwick
0940 BA1476 British Airways from Heathrow
1010 EZY402 Easyjet from Luton
1050 BA1477 British Airways to Heathrow
1315 BA1478 British Airways from Heathrow
Aberdeen Airport cancellations include
0650 BA1321 British Airways to Heathrow
1610 BA1312 British Airways from Heathrow
1700 BA1313 British Airways to Heathrow
1825 BA1314 British Airways from Heathrow
1915 BA1315 British Airways to Heathrow
Inverness Airport cancellations include
0700 EZY846 Easyjet to Gatwick
0735 BA1427 British Airways to Heathrow
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