A technical issue with air traffic control has led to flight delays at Scotland’s airports today.
Edinburgh, Glasgow, Dundee, Aberdeen and Prestwick airports have been affected by the problem at the Scottish Air Traffic Control centre at Prestwick.
Nats, who provide air traffic control services in the UK, said: “We have had a technical problem overnight with interference on some radio frequencies that we use to speak to aircraft.
“It only affects part of Scottish airspace and flights from some Scottish airports this morning may be delayed as a result.We have identified the cause, isolated the problem and the situation is improving.
BE6621 departed for Stansted at 0800, hope you have a good flight and your day not disrupted too much? @dundeecity pic.twitter.com/JTJIcrpv5K
— Dundee Airport (@DNDAirport) October 26, 2015
“We apologise sincerely for any inconvenience.”
Dundee Airport’s early flight to London Stansted was delayed for around an hour, but took off shortly after 8am.
A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport said: “Due to an ongoing issue at the Scottish Airspace control centre, there will be a delay to all flights this morning. We are still assessing the situation but customers should expect delays.”
UPDATE: NO flights cancelled, some flights delayed.Please check with your airline and see detail here https://t.co/8RmSHJkH9k
— Edinburgh Airport (@EDI_Airport) October 26, 2015
At Aberdeen Airport a spokesman said a small number of delays were affecting southbound flights but it was hoped they would be back to normal “as soon as possible”.
One traveller flying to Paris via Amsterdam tweeted to say they were “stuck on a plane” at Glasgow Airport.
The airport said flights were now beginning to leave but there were some delays. Passengers were asked via Twitter to check their airline for specific flight details.
The issue with air traffic control is being resolved however there are delays to flights. Check flight status at https://t.co/gJsVQvz2W9
— Glasgow Airport (@GLA_Airport) October 26, 2015
Gordon Robertson, of Edinburgh Airport, said passengers should consult their airlines before heading to the airport.
He told BBC Radio Scotland’s Good Morning Scotland programme: “Clearly, if there was an airspace closure as we saw this morning for a period of time that has a knock-on effect through the day and we’re working with our airlines to try and understand how that affects flights for the rest of the day and we’ll be giving information when we can.
“However, we’d recommend that passengers talk to their airlines in the first instance before coming to the airport.”
He estimated it would take “hours rather than days” for operations to return to normal.
But he added: “Clearly, with the effect on the first wave today, there are going to be reverberations through the day and passengers should keep an eye on our Twitter feed, our social media, but also talk to their airlines as well.
“I’m sure air traffic control wouldn’t allow flights if anything was unsafe so I don’t think passengers should be worried unduly.”
Scotland’s Transport Minister, Derek Mackay, told the programme he understood the technical issue has been “rectified and addressed”.
He added: “However, there is a knock-on consequence to the airlines so people should check with their airlines and airports to ensure that their flights are running.
“There has been a knock-on impact and a number of flights are delayed but I understand the technical issue has been addressed.”