'Air traffic control meltdown like something out of Airplane! movie

Aug 03, 2023

Absolutely nobody will be surprised this happened on a bank holiday Monday when 3,049 flights were due to depart UK airports, and a further 3,054 flights scheduled to arrive

There’s a scene in the very funny and gloriously un-PC 1980 disaster spoof film Airplane! where manic control tower worker Johnny pulls out a plug and all the runway lights go off just as the hero and heroine are about to land the plane in the dark.

Presumably at some point we’ll find out what exactly caused this UK-wide air traffic control shambles.

But whether it’s hackers, spilled coffee on a keyboard or some clumsy idiot has tripped over a cable and yanked something important out of a socket in National Air Traffic Services HQ, you can add it to the ever-growing list of You Could Not Make It Up British travel calamities.

Absolutely NOBODY will be surprised this happened on a bank holiday Monday when 3,049 flights were due to depart UK airports and a further 3,054 flights scheduled to arrive, making a total of more than a million passenger seats.

The national ATC system went belly up at exactly the most inopportune moment on one of the busiest days of the summer as aviation crawls back to 90% of its pre-pandemic capacity and hard-working British families try to escape what has been a pretty lousy summer with rail and airport worker strikes and poor weather.

Obviously this mess is not the airlines' fault but they have a duty of care to get you to your destination if they possibly can, so they are having to pick up the pieces - and it will cost them a packet.

And the frustration, inconvenience and stress affecting hundreds of thousands of unlucky passengers stuck on planes going nowhere, in airport queues and camped on the floor in terminals at home and abroad will be absolutely immense.

As these delays are an “extraordinary circumstance” and not an airline's fault, the Civil Aviation Authority warns that unfortunately passengers should not expect to receive any compensation from carriers.

However, they may be able to make a claim on travel insurance, as some policies do offer limited cover for delays.

As a complication, there are different laws for flights on UK and EU airlines flying from/to the EU and for flights on non-UK/EU arriving or leaving from outside the UK/EU.

If you are going to try to claim compensation, keep evidence of the reasonable costs you've incurred, such as hotels or meals, and for further information check with the Civil Aviation Authority and Citizens Advice.

One thing’s for sure, the travel gods are clearly very angry with us all and the grand fromage of NATS will surely not be enjoying his or her Corn Flakes this morning. And don't call me Shirley…

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