On Tuesday evening (August 29), it was reported the problem was caused by flight data received by National Air Traffic Services (Nats), with both primary and back-up systems responding by suspending automatic processing, chief executive Martin Rolfe said.
He told Sky News: “You will understand we have very complex systems, handling something in the region of two million flights a year and the safety of those passengers is incredibly important to us.
“We are not going to rush into saying what the cause is until we absolutely fully understand.”
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What happens if you miss your flight due to airport delays
Mr Rolfe added: “I’m not ruling out anything at this stage.
“We are conducting an investigation, we will conduct it incredibly thoroughly.”
Many passengers are still waiting to return from their holiday while others are stranded in UK airports trying to get home.
However, late flights did depart throughout the night on Tuesday from Heathrow, as the Heathrow Runway account posted on X (formerly known as Twitter): “Due to continued recovery from yesterdays ATC outage there are predicted to be several late running flights tonight.
“We would like to apologise for any disruption this may cause.”
Made it back to Brizzle! Never been so grateful to be here – Chaos everywhere!! #airtrafficcontrol Big up gate 9! pic.twitter.com/DyX1g5GKDY
— the bath gardener (@thebathgardener) August 28, 2023
Social media has also been flooded with footage showing endless queues and children sleeping on the floor.
UK holidaymakers have been forced to stay abroad for an “extra five days”, while families have been given no other option but to attempt to drive home, being on the road for more than 12 hours.
But one account praised Hays Travel for its customer service, posting on X: “@HaysTravel stuck in Rome for…
