Harper says airways are taking ‘every step possible’ to extend capability
M
ark Harper has mentioned airways are taking “every step possible” to extend capability after passengers have been left stranded by the air site visitors management (ATC) failure, following a gathering with aviation chiefs.
The Transport Secretary mentioned airways have reported “most customers” affected by the chaos have now reached their locations.
Flights to and from UK airports have been restricted for a number of hours on Monday afternoon as National Air Traffic Services (Nats) have been unable to course of flight plans routinely.
Mr Harper met Nats, the Civil Aviation Authority, Border Force, airways, airports and commerce teams on Friday “to discuss the latest situation ahead of the start of the new school year” in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
Speaking after the discussions, he mentioned: “Airlines have reported that most customers affected by Monday’s air traffic control failure have reached their destinations and I’m grateful for the steps taken by the industry to help make this happen. The Government continues to support those efforts in any way we can.
“On Monday the Civil Aviation Authority will receive Nats’ initial report into the incident, which the aviation minister and I will study with interest. Any next steps will be set out after the initial findings are published later in the week.
“All parties are working hard to understand the incident and make sure passengers don’t face this kind of disruption again, and I will be supporting them in this effort.”
A Department for Transport readout of the assembly mentioned the Transport Secretary had famous “the failure came during one of the busiest weeks of the year for aviation and that airlines have taken every step possible to increase capacity where possible, including adding extra flights and putting on larger aircraft.”
Nats mentioned an “unusual piece of data” it obtained compelled it to change to guide checks.
More than 1 / 4 of flights have been cancelled on Monday, and the knock-on impact continued for 2 extra days.
This week’s disruption got here at one of many worst instances of the yr as there may be little spare capability because of it being the top of the summer time break for a lot of colleges.
Thousands of holidaymakers are nonetheless stranded abroad as many flights from widespread locations are full.
Nats is conducting an inquiry into what occurred and can ship a preliminary report back to Mr Harper on Monday.