Manchester Airport issues new statement on flights after air traffic control issues

Manchester Airport bosses say their flight schedule is nearly back to normal after Monday’s air traffic control issues. 

Thousands of passengers have seen their travel plans severely impacted after a ‘network-wide failure of UK air traffic control systems’ on bank holiday Monday. Controllers were having to input flight plans manually due to a fault with its systems meaning they could not process the same volume - "traffic flow restrictions" having to be implemented.

There were almost no flight cancellations on Wednesday after two days of severe disruptions, but there were delays and passengers whose travel plans had been impacted were still feeling the effects of Monday’s technical issues, with many stranded abroad.

A statement read: “Manchester Airport is operating a near normal flight schedule today following Monday’s nationwide technical issue that affected air traffic control. 

“We continue to advise passengers to check the status of their flight with their airline before travelling to the airport. 

“As our airlines look to accommodate passengers whose travel plans have been disrupted over the last few days, our terminals may be busier than usual at times. 

“We are working hard with our airlines and their handling agents to get you through the airport as smoothly as possible. We thank you for your understanding.”

It was revealed on Wednesday that an “unusual piece of data” caused the widespread flight disruption. Many UK holidaymakers are stranded overseas after around 2,000 flights were cancelled.