Passengers flying from Scotland are facing delays this morning after an air traffic control problem restricted the capacity of Scottish airspace. Flights arriving at and departing from Glasgow Airport have been affected, while a number of delays are also showing on the live departures board at Edinburgh Airport.
Technical failure at Prestwick Centre
The disruption is understood to be linked to a failure affecting the Flight Data Processing System (FDPS) at NATS' Prestwick Centre. Aviation News UK reported this morning that the failure restricted the capacity of Scottish-controlled airspace by 60%, with restrictions in place until 11am UTC.
They said delays were being reported across the network, adding the disruption was "not limited to Prestwick Airport". NATS' Prestwick Centre controls aircraft across Scotland, Northern Ireland, parts of northern England and the North Atlantic.
Passengers report delays
One passenger said: "Looks like more air traffic control (NATS) issues. Boarded to go from Glasgow to Porto and sitting on tarmac. Just been told it’s going to be over an hour delay."
Another traveller said they had been stuck in Dublin since 6.25am. They said: "Heads up for anyone flying to Scotland this morning; there’s an issue with the air traffic control, something to do with Prestwick. We’ve been stuck in Dublin since 6.25am & being told it’ll be at least an hour before we can take off."
Earlier incident and impact
The impact was also being seen at Edinburgh Airport, where flights from Belfast City, Dublin and Heathrow were among those showing revised estimated arrival times this morning. It is not yet clear how long the disruption will last or how many flights will ultimately be affected.
The latest problems come just two weeks after a separate air traffic control failure caused widespread disruption across the UK. On September 8, NATS said a technical issue with its flight data system had led to restrictions being placed across UK airspace. Its subsequent preliminary report found the incident was caused by a software defect in part of the National Airspace System. NATS said the earlier incident was resolved the same evening, although it took more than two days for the backlog of passenger disruption to clear.
Glasgow Airport and Edinburgh Airport have been approached for comment.
