The air traffic in the United Kingdom has been gradually restored, even though the government has ordered a thorough investigation into the reasons that led to Monday’s blackout.

Hundreds of flights had been canceled, postponed, or delayed due to a technical problem reported to Britain’s National Air Traffic Service (NATS).

For hours, flights not only to and from Britain, but also those that would use the country’s airspace had been blocked, resulting in thousands of passengers being stranded at airports. NATS was forced to curtail the flow of aircraft after the problem affected the system’s ability to automatically process flight plans.

The blackout caused hundreds of flights across the country to be canceled and those not canceled were actually delayed, stranding thousands of passengers. The inconvenience was greater for families with children, who were returning from their summer holidays.

The technical problem affected the flight planning system and forced carriers to manually enter flight plans, resulting in a spate of delays and cancellations.

Airline officials said that they had not faced a similar problem for almost a decade.

The costs for the airlines are expected to exceed 110 million euros. The assessment was made to the BBC by the head of the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Willie Walls, while the managing director of the British National Air Traffic Service (NATS), Martin Rolfe, assured that the problem has been fixed and will not happen again.

Martin Rolf noted that the technical problem was caused by a flight plan that was not “standard enough”. Ryanair criticized NATS for not having a backup system. Airlines are now scrambling to help get travelers back.

British Transport Secretary, Mark Harper, said that he was working with NATS to help manage the affected flights and provide support to passengers. Rolf added that NATS is trying to help airlines.

Source: Euronews

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