"Technical Issues Lead to Cancellation of Over 500 British Flights"

Over 500 British Flights Cancelled Due to "Technical Issues" in Airspace Monitoring

Yesterday afternoon, more than 500 flights were cancelled in the UK due to "technical issues" with the British airspace monitoring system. According to authorities, the problems have since been resolved, but the impacts are expected to linger for several days.

Three hours after reporting the "technical issues," the British authority, National Air Traffic Services (NATS), announced that they had been "identified and resolved."

According to NATS, the flight planning system for British airspace monitoring had crashed, resulting in flight plans being manually entered and processed, instead of being automated. Hundreds of cancellations and further delays anticipated

Initially, NATS stated that they had implemented "traffic flow restrictions to ensure safety." As a result of the resulting delays, around 270 landings and over 230 take-offs were reportedly cancelled, according to aviation analysis firm Cirium cited by BBC.

Many flights are currently delayed by more than eight hours, with further cancellations expected throughout the day. Thousands of travelers worldwide are affected by these delays. Passengers bound for the UK have reported lengthy delays and flight cancellations on social media platforms. Impacts expected to persist for several days

Experts anticipate that the consequences for the British aviation sector, particularly around the key hub of London, could be felt for several days.

British Airways has stated that they have had to make "significant changes" to their flight schedule. Short-haul flights have been particularly affected. Irish airlines Ryanair and Aer Lingus have also canceled several connections, both within Ireland and to the UK.