A technical problem in Britain's air traffic system sparked hundreds of flight cancellations. Source: AAP
AIRLINE passengers in the UK may face further delays after a major air traffic control glitch caused huge disruptions at airports across the country.
Hundreds of flights were cancelled or delayed on Saturday after problems with a telephone system at the National Air Traffic Service (Nats) centre in Swanwick, Hampshire.
Thousands of people endured hours of frustration as flights were affected across the country, including the major airports of Heathrow, Stansted and Gatwick.
The problem was resolved late in the day, Nats said, and while the disruption is likely to have a knock-on effect on Sunday, the three main London airports predicted a largely trouble-free day.
"There are no planned flight schedule changes for Sunday," a spokesman for London Heathrow said.
"We still advise passengers to check with airlines prior to travelling though."
Gatwick said that operations had returned to normal and it was "not anticipating significant disruptions," while Stansted forecast a normal flight schedule but advised passengers to check the status of flights with airlines.
The problem occurred when the 23 controllers on a night shift at Swanwick handed over to the 125 controllers on the day shift.
Nats' night-time operating system, which combines sectors of airspace for when it is less busy, did not properly switch over to the daytime system, causing a communication problem with the centre's internal telephones. They stressed that safety was not at risk at any time.
Heathrow was the worst affected, with 228 cancellations - 112 in arrivals, and 116 departures, with most being short-haul flights. A spokesman for the airport said the cancellations represented 15 per cent of their usual daily total of 1,300 flights going in and out of the airport.
Frustrated passengers were left in long queues to re-book flights, while others reported having to wait for hours to speak to airline representatives.
The glitch affected flights across Europe, with 1,300 flights, nearly eight per cent of all traffic in Europe, "severely delayed", according to Eurocontrol, the European organisation for air navigation safety.
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