Recently, the UK air traffic system experienced its most severe failure in a decade, resulting in thousands of passengers being stranded at airports. Among them were Katrina Harrison and her family, who were originally planning a vacation to Antalya, Turkey, but were forced to spend the night at Leeds Bradford Airport.
Ms. Harrison stated that the hotels near the airport were already fully booked and the shops had run out of food. They only received a bottle of water, a KitKat chocolate bar, and a packet of crisps without receiving a proper meal. It was evident that some people received vouchers, but they did not. Throughout the night, the shops ran out of food and drinks.
Like Ms. Harrison, many passengers had to find temporary accommodations due to flight cancellations. The UK's automated flight plan system crashed, forcing air traffic controllers to operate manually, resulting in them being able to handle a reduced number of flights. Although the problem has been resolved, the ripple effects are still ongoing.
On Tuesday morning, London Heathrow Airport showed 78 delayed departures and 32 canceled flights, a decrease compared to Monday's over 170 canceled flights. According to Flight Tracker data, London's second-largest airport, Gatwick Airport, had 23 flights canceled.
This situation prompted Transport Minister Mark Harper to launch an independent review of the incident and warn that resolving the issue could take several days.
Although the situation "significantly improved" on Tuesday, not all passengers were as fortunate. Some passengers were informed that the earliest rescheduled flights would require a wait of six days without providing accommodation information or compensation.
Airlines such as British Airways and EasyJet advised passengers not to travel to the airport before Tuesday to avoid flight delays or cancellations. Etihad Airways and Emirates also advised travelers to and from the UK to expect delays.
Some passengers complained that when their flights were canceled, they had to pay for expensive hotel accommodations themselves. One person mentioned paying £599 (approximately $798) for hotel expenses.
This failure resulted in many passengers having to spend the night at the airport, waiting for new flights. They were unable to obtain proper rest and food, and their emotions were highly anxious. This had a significant impact on their planned family vacations.
While the system has been restored, it may take several days to fully resume normal services due to aircraft positioning issues.
This failure occurred during the peak travel period of a long weekend in the UK, with many vacationers returning home. According to aviation analytics company Cirium, a total of 790 flights were canceled at UK airports on Monday, equivalent to 27% of all departures, and almost the same number of inbound flights were also canceled. Ryanair stated that over 20 aircraft were unable to return to their bases.
This event has attracted public and government attention, with the Transport Minister stating that this is the first occurrence of its kind in a decade and ruling out the possibility of a cyberattack.
For the affected passengers, they hope to catch up with their journeys as soon as possible, but at the same time, they expect airlines to provide appropriate compensation and assistance. They are angry about the lack of information and the additional expenses, especially for passengers who cannot afford the extra costs.
Overall, the UK air traffic failure has caused inconvenience and distress to many passengers, and they hope that relevant authorities can resolve the issue promptly to ensure future flight operations are more stable and smooth.