Air traffic control systems were back up and running today after a breakdown grounded many transatlantic flights leaving the UK for most of the morning.
The fault happened at Prestwick airport’s air traffic control hub at 8am, causing delays at airports across Britain, a spokewoman for Nats, which is responsible for the UK’s air traffic management, said.
Nats said that London's Heathrow was the worst affected by the delays, with flights to the United States delayed by more than two hours. But Gatwick airport was not as badly affected, added the spokeswoman.
Lilian Cassin, spokeswoman for the Irish Aviation Authority, said that there were no problems at Shannon Airport.
A spokeswoman for Dublin airport said that flights leaving and arriving there were unaffected.
Engineers have now resolved the problem and restrictions on flights over the north Atlantic airspace have been lifted, the Nats spokeswoman said. Airports would now be working to clear a backlog of flights that have been unable to leave as a result of the fault.