Flights In England Had Been Constrained For Several Hours Due To Radar Disorders

JAKARTA - A radar-related technical problem on the UK's air traffic control system disrupted flights for more than four hours at major airports in London and elsewhere on Wednesday, although the issue was then resolved and departures could resume.

"Our system is fully operational and air traffic capacity is back to normal," said NATS, a British air traffic control provider in an upload on X.

"Departures at all airports have been continued and we are working with affected airlines and airports to safely address the queues. We apologize to everyone affected by this issue," he continued.

The blackout, announced by NATS 20 minutes earlier, also occurred at Heathrow Airport, the UK's largest and busiest airport in Europe.

In a subsequent update to Reuters, a NATS spokesman said it was a radar-related matter, "which has been resolved by immediately switching to a backup system, and during that time we reduced traffic to ensure safety."

"The flight at Heathrow has resumed after a technical problem occurred at the NATS Swanwick air traffic control center. We advise passengers to contact their airlines before traveling," said an airport spokesman.

Meanwhile Gatwick Airport and Edinburgh Airport also stated that operations had resumed.

London City Airport previously also reported disturbances. It is not yet known exactly how long the disturbance will last.

Meanwhile, airline Ryanair said the disruption lasted "more than four hours" and caused delays and several flight diversions, disrupting thousands of passengers.

The Irish-based low-cost airline said the matter was "completely unacceptable" and asked Martin kane, chief executive of the air traffic control provider, to resign.

"It is clear that there has been no lessons learned since the NATS system disruption in August 2023 and passengers continue to suffer from the inability of Martin fire," Ryanair's chief operating officer, Neal McMahon, said in a statement.

In August 2023, flights across the UK were disrupted after automatic processing of flight plans malfunctioned.

Last year, UK aviation regulators said NATS needed to review its contingency plans for operational termination after the disruption, which airline officials said had caused losses of more than 100 million in the form of refunds and compensation.