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Get you up to speed: More Heathrow & Gatwick flights cancelled after knock-on effect from air traffic control chaos | News UK
A technical issue at Nats caused significant flight disruptions across major UK airports, leading to the cancellation of 177 flights on Tuesday. While flights are operating again, authorities have warned of continued disruption as airlines work to reposition aircraft and crew.
The National Air Traffic Services (NATS) has fixed the technical glitch affecting its flight processing system, but the aviation industry continues to deal with significant operational disruptions as airlines and airports work to reposition aircraft and crew. As of now, 177 flights have been cancelled, predominantly affecting Heathrow Airport, with more cancellations expected as operations gradually normalise.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander will address the Commons following a meeting with Nats CEO Martin Rolfe, who is facing calls for resignation from industry leaders, including Ryanair’s chief operating officer. While Nats has identified the technical issue and operations have resumed at major airports, lingering disruptions will affect flights as airlines work to reposition aircraft and crew.
What remains unclear — It is not specified how long it will take for operations to fully return to normal amid the ongoing disruptions.
Heathrow and Gatwick face further flight cancellations following air traffic control issues
UK travellers brace themselves for a second day of misery as the air traffic control issue is set to cause more flight cancellations.
Tuesday marked a difficult day for the aviation industry and passengers as a technical issue grounded hundreds of planes across major airports.
Passengers trying to reach holidays and weddings waited hours on stranded aircraft, only to be told to come back in the morning. Some spent their nights on the cold airport floors and seats.
The havoc stemmed from a technical system glitch affecting Nats, which provides air traffic control services to 15 UK airports.
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Although the glitch itself has been fixed, the knock-on impact will continue to hamper flights as aircraft and crew have been left misplaced overnight.
So far today, 177 flights have been cancelled, mostly at Heathrow Airport, according to tracking website Flightradar24.
At Gatwick, most morning flights are listed to depart, but several with delays. An easyJet flight to Nice at 8.30am was listed as cancelled, according to Flightradar24.
Heathrow, Gatwick and Luton said flights are operating today but some disruption might continue, and people should check with their airline.
Tens of thousands of passengers were affected yesterday, with Ryanair alone reporting that more than 65,000 of its passengers were caught up.
Those lucky enough not to be stranded on an aircraft reported issues and delays with receiving their luggage.
The chief of Nats, Martin Rolfe, was summoned to meet with the Transport Secretary today.
Speaking to Sky News, he said he accepts ‘full responsibility,’ but refused to answer whether he was considering his position after the glitch.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander will face the Commons after speaking with Rolfe for the second reading of the Civil Aviation Bill.
Ryanair’s chief operating officer, Neal McMahon, called on Rolfe to resign, calling him an ‘overpaid failure’ CEO.
McMahon said: ‘How many more failures do passengers have to suffer before overpaid failure Nats CEO Martin Rolfe accepts responsibility for his repeated mismanagement and resigns?
‘Over three years after Nats’ catastrophic 2023 system meltdown, it’s clear that nothing has changed, with UK passengers once again suffering avoidable ATC (air traffic control) delays of up to eight hours today due a critical Nats ATC system failing.’
British former racing driver Martin Brundle said he was stranded on a planeto ‘nowhere’ at Heathrow for ‘nine hours and counting.’
He said on social media: ‘At a remote parking bay, no food throughout, and mother/baby and a person with a medical condition desperate to get off. As is everyone else. Toilets no longer available as blocked. No sign of steps or buses. And that’s before the wait for luggage.’
Josie Donogue had to disembark her flight to Ireland after spending three hours on the runway.
She said: ‘Getting through that airport was like trying to get out of Alcatraz. We were trapped in there. We were told we couldn’t get out until the flights were cancelled, and then eventually they allowed us to get out.
‘It’s just an absolute nightmare down there, it’s the only word I can use to describe it.’
Nats said in its latest update on Tuesday evening: ‘Work is continuing to assist airlines and airports recover from today’s disruption.
‘This has been a very complex recovery and has created difficulties for the whole aviation network, from which it will take time to recover.
‘We apologise again for the disruption caused. Passengers should check with their airline on the status of their flight tonight or tomorrow.’
Aviation analytics firm Cirium said more than 1,750 arriving and departing UK flights out of 5,800 were cancelled yesterday.
What are your rights if the flight is delayed or cancelled?
In the UK and EU, airlines must look after you if your flight is delayed or cancelled. This includes everything from meals and accommodation to an alternative flight if necessary.
Citizen’s Advice says that airlines should also give impacted passengers access to phone calls and emails, and, if they offer you a place to stay, organise the journeys between the hotel and the airport.
Sometimes, the airline will cover this by handing you vouchers at the airport. When in doubt, keep any receipts for expenses and claim them back afterwards from the airline.
But an airline will only cough up money for ‘reasonable’ expenses.
If you didn’t book with a UK or EU airline, you’ll need to check their terms and conditions. However, for the most part, airlines should provide meals and accommodation as appropriate.
When am I eligible for this support?
Whether you’re eligible for the above depends on the distance of your flight and how long you have waited:
- For medium-haul (between 1,500km and 3,500km over two to four hours), it’s three hours or more.
- For long-haul (more than 3,500km over four hours or more), it’s four hours or more.
- For short-haul (up to 1,500km over two hours or less), you must have been waiting for two hours or more.
What about compensation?
The bad news is that if your flight was cancelled or delayed due to the air traffic control issue, you are unlikely to be owed compensation from the airline.
This is because of the force majeure or exceptional circumstances rule as the disruption was out of the airline’s control.
Have you been affected? Please email [email protected]
October 12, 2024
6:18 am
‘Cheer up, you caught the bad guy,’ says killer Virginia McCullough as she is arrested for murdering her parents
A woman who murdered her parents “in cold blood” before hiding them in makeshift tombs for four years told officers to “cheer up, you caught the bad guy” as she was arrested in her home.
Virginia McCullough, 36, poisoned her father John McCullough, 70, with prescription medication and fatally stabbed her mother Lois McCullough, 71, shortly afterwards in 2019.
She ran up large debts on credit cards in her parents’ names and after their deaths, she continued to spend their pensions until she was finally caught in 2023.
In body-worn video footage released by police, a handcuffed – and eerily calm – McCullough told officers: “I did know that this would kind of come eventually.
“It’s proper that I serve my punishment.”
She said she had slipped something into her father’s drink then put his body under a bed on the ground floor, and put her mother’s body in an upstairs wardrobe.
McCullough, having been arrested on suspicion of double murder, told an officer: “Cheer up, at least you’ve caught the bad guy.”
She added: “I know I don’t seem 100% evil.”
At the police station, she told officers where a kitchen knife was, which she described as a “murder weapon”, and a hammer which she said “will still have blood on it”.
McCullough, of Pump Hill, Chelmsford, Essex, was sentenced to life imprisonment on Friday with a minimum term of 36 years at Chelmsford Crown Court, after she admitted to their murders between 17 and 20 June 2019 at an earlier hearing at the same court.
Chelmsford Crown Court heard how she hid their bodies in makeshift tombs at the family home in Great Baddow in Essex, then told persistent lies to cover her tracks.
The court heard she cancelled family arrangements and frequently told doctors and relatives her parents were unwell, on holiday or away on lengthy trips.
But concerns over Mr and Mrs McCullough’s welfare were raised in September 2023 by a GP at their registered practice, and Essex County Council’s safeguarding team referred these to police.
The GP had not seen the couple for some time and said Mr McCullough had failed to collect medication and attend scheduled appointments. It was found McCullough had frequently cancelled appointments, using a range of excuses to explain her father’s absence.
Police said a missing persons investigation was initially launched and McCullough lied to officers, claiming her parents were travelling and would be returning in October.
It became a murder investigation, and when officers forced entry to the house in Pump Hill on September 15 2023, McCullough confessed that her parents’ bodies were in the house and that she had killed them.
Nicola Rice, a specialist prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: “McCullough callously and viciously killed both of her parents before concealing their bodies in makeshift tombs within their home address.
“She spent the next four years manipulating and lying to family members, medical staff, financial institutions, and the police, spending her parents’ money and accruing large debts in their name.”
She added: “This was a truly disturbing case, which has left behind it a trail of devastation, and I can only hope that the sentence passed today will help those who loved and cared for Lois and John begin to heal.”
To downplay the genocide, the israelis claim there’s only 20,000 people left in north Gaza, says
@MahaGaza
: the real number exceeds 400,000
Man of the right wing Nigel Farage taking more second jobs and freebie helicopter rides
Gosh he’ll soon be a true blue Tory at this rate
Or far far worse
The cost-of-living crisis is far from over, yet the government’s 50% increase to the bus fare cap is a political choice, adding hundreds to annual costs.
To address hardship & the climate crisis, the government must keep the £2 cap & make public transport accessible for all.
G20 waters down support for Ukraine amid pressure for peace talks
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November 23, 2024
8:25 am
Defense alliance NATO chief Mark Rutte has met US President-elect Donald Trump to discuss global security issues, according to a NATO spokesperson.
The meeting took place in Palm Beach, Florida.
During his first term as US president, 2017-2020, Trump pushed for European NATO countries to spend more on defense and described the alliance’s cost-sharing as unfair to the US.
Rutte took over as NATO chief from Norwegian Jens Stoltenberg in November.
Before taking office in January, Trump has nominated Pete Hegseth for the post of defense secretary, which has raised eyebrows among many allies.
Hegseth, 44, has served as an infantry captain in Iraq and Afghanistan, but has no senior military or government officer experience.
November 23, 2024
8:25 am
November 23, 2024
8:17 am
Multiple missiles were fired in an airstrike towards a densely populated part of Lebanon’s capital early on Saturday.
The huge airstrike targeted Beirut’s Basta neighbourhood, and no prior warnings were given by the Israeli military. The largely residential area was struck last month.
At least one violent explosion was heard across the city, Reuters witnesses said, and plumes of smoke could be seen. Scenes of massive destruction at the site were shared online, including a massive crater in the ground.
“Beirut, the capital, woke up to a horrific massacre, as the Israeli enemy’s air force completely destroyed an eight-story residential building with five missiles on Al-Mamoun Street in Basta,” the state-run National News Agency reported.
The health ministry put the initial death toll at four, with 23 wounded. The number is expected to climb in the coming hours as search and rescue efforts continue.
It came after a long day of Israeli airstrikes on Beirut’s southern suburbs, which have been non-stop since last week.
The cross-border fighting between Israel and the Iran-backed Hezbollah militant group escalated into a full-blown war in mid-September.
Israel has bombed southern Lebanon, Beirut’s southern suburbs and the eastern Beqaa region, and has sent ground troops across the border. Hezbollah has continued to fire rockets deeper into Israel.
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