Air traffic control ‘issue’ causes more problems for UK travellers

Air and rail travellers have faced another day of delays and cancellations in the aftermath of Thursday’s record temperatures.

Flights across the country were disrupted, leaving many people stranded both around Britain and also in cities across Europe. The rail network, which was crippled in the heat, struggled for a second day, and Eurostar passengers were advised not to travel.

British Airways said severe thunderstorms caused “significant delays and cancellations” in and out of London.

Emma Holland, stuck in Rome, told Sky News: “I received an email this morning saying our flight was cancelled, didn’t give any information as to the reason why.”

She said she had nowhere to stay tonight, adding: “It’s sounded quite a bit of alarm for us… we’re quite panicked about it.”

And a technical problem at air traffic control company Nats added to the problems, making things worse at both Heathrow and Gatwick – Britain’s busiest airports.

Eurocontrol, which co-ordinates European air traffic, said the problem was caused by an “issue with radar displays” and there would be “high” levels of delays for flights arriving at Gatwick and Heathrow.

The issue at the Swanwick centre has since been fixed “sufficiently” to increase traffic flow.

On the rails, Eurostar services to and from Paris were also facing serious disruption due to problems with overhead power lines in the French capital.

Paris had its hottest day ever yesterday, hitting 42.6C (108.7F).

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Railway lines in the UK were also facing severe delays following the searing heat on Thursday.

Engineers worked overnight to repair damaged tracks in several locations, while overhead lines also suffered damage.

Passengers are being urged to check service information before they travel.

There was continued disruption on the Midland Main Line, which runs between Sheffield and London St Pancras, as well as on services run by Great Northern, Thameslink, East Midlands Trains and West Midlands Trains.

A passenger told Sky News how delays at St Pancras left people in tears as their journeys were cancelled.

She said: “In two days I’ve bought two train tickets and a hotel. It’s 200-odd quid that I’m out of pocket.

“People aren’t even helpful, they go ‘well use delay repay’.”

She added: “It was chaos yesterday, people were upset, people were in tears, kids were crying.”

Another passenger said: “We waited for three hours inside the tunnel, boiling hot, air conditioning systems breaking down, and no water.”

Phil James, from Network Rail, apologised for the delays.

“I want to say sorry to passengers for the disruption and discomfort they faced making their journeys yesterday,” he said.

“The extreme temperatures made travelling by train very difficult at times and we thank passengers for their patience while we worked hard to get people moving again.

“With the railway being made of metal and moving parts, the sustained high temperatures took their toll in places.

“Everything was done to keep trains moving where possible, and last night hundreds of staff were out fixing the damage and repairing the railway ready for today.”

Temperatures today have been far cooler than they were yesterday – the UK’s hottest July day ever – and will continue to fall over the weekend.

The Met Office has said that Thursday may in fact have been the UK’s hottest day ever, after Cambridge University Botanic Garden recorded 38.7C (101.6F).

It will “thoroughly investigate the observation” to see if the record can be confirmed.

Mike Hewitson, of Transport Focus, told Sky News: “We’ve got to start looking at how we’re going to make it more resilient – how it can cope with extremes.

“These events are coming around so frequently, we’ve got to have planning for those out-of-the-ordinary events into the infrastructure.”

(c) Sky News 2019: Air traffic control ‘issue’ causes more problems for UK travellers