‘It’s been a s*** show!’: Tearful tourists stranded at London Heathrow due to UK air traffic control meltdown tell of chaos and confusion at Europe’s busiest airport as flights are cancelled
Tourists who have been left stranded at London Heathrow due to an air traffic control meltdown have described the chaos and confusion at Europe’s busiest airport – as hundreds of flights in and out of the UK were cancelled today.
Britain’s National Air Traffic Services (NATS) said it experienced ‘technical issues’ that forced controllers to switch from an automatic system for landing and dispatching flights to a manual one. The fault triggered a day of havoc for furious holidaymakers.
At 3.15pm, a positive update was given that the technical issue had been ‘identified and remedied’ but widespread disruption is expected to continue into the week, according to experts.
As many as 80 per cent of flights leaving the UK are delayed today, causing chaos for tens of thousands of holidaymakers on one of the busiest days of the year.
Heathrow has urged passengers only to travel to the airport if flights are ‘confirmed to be operating’, adding: ‘Schedules still remain significantly disrupted.’
Alexandra Bass was making her first trip abroad from the US without her husband and daughter in ten years. Fighting back tears, the 42-year-old said: ‘It’s been a s***show from start to finish.
‘My flight to Lisbon was cancelled earlier this afternoon and the airline has lost my luggage, which is extremely worrying because I had heart failure recently and the medication I need is in that bag.
‘I’m trying to get on a later flight to Portugal tonight but nobody knows what’s going on or whether there are definitely any flights.
