Flights in UK delayed by 'technical issue' with air traffic control in Scotland

A "technical issue" with air traffic control in Scotland is causing delays to flights in the UK.

The national air traffic service (Nats) said engineers had been called in to deal with the issue at the Prestwick Centre in South Ayrshire which handles air traffic control across Scotland and the north of England.

The service said the issue was not related to a software defect that led to the cancellation of 2,000 flights across the UK earlier this month.

Passengers have taken to social media to confirm they are experiencing delays at Glasgow, Prestwick and Edinburgh airports. Delays are also being reported at Manchester, Newcastle and Belfast airports.

The Manchester Airports Group said there have been delays of up to an hour on some flights at Manchester Airport and there are also delays at East Midlands Airport.

Several arrivals and departures at Belfast City Airport are cancelled, including flights to and from Manchester, Amsterdam, London City and, later on towards lunchtime, Glasgow and Edinburgh.

Dundee and Benbecula airports have also confirmed flights are impacted.

A spokesperson for Edinburgh Airport said: "We are experiencing some delays due to the Nats issue at Prestwick Centre.

"We are monitoring the situation closely and are working with Nats as they work to resolve the issue."

A spokesperson for AGS, which operates Glasgow, Aberdeen and Southampton airports, said: "Some services operating to and from our airports are experiencing delays, primarily at Glasgow Airport, and further disruption is expected due to the knock-on impact across the network.

"This is the second time in as many weeks that a Nats technical issue has had a significant impact on services operating through our airports, and we fully appreciate the frustration this will cause those whose travel plans have been disrupted."

A spokesperson for Highlands and Islands airports said flight schedules are being impacted across their 11 regional airports.

A spokesperson for Ryanair said they had been notified of a Nats "equipment failure" affecting airspace above Scotland and northern England.

They said it was impacting flights to and from the UK and Ireland.

A Nats spokesperson said: "Our engineers are continuing to investigate the issue at our Prestwick centre in Scotland.

"Airports south of Manchester are broadly unaffected, however flights heading north and flights departing Scottish airports are currently subject to some delay."

The spokesperson apologised for the disruption and urged passengers to check with their airline for more information.

Lewis Fraser from Inverness is on onboard a plane stuck on the runway at Glasgow Airport.

He told BBC News: "We boarded the flight as normal but were immediately told we were delayed.

"The latest update was around half an hour ago to say we might be waiting another hour and 45 minutes. Some passengers have left the plane in the last few minutes."

He is travelling to Heathrow to get a connecting flight to Chicago but said making his connection seemed "unlikely".

Tony Whittaker has been on a plane stuck at Reus Airport in Spain since 09:30. He is travelling to Leeds and said the pilot had advised it might be 15:00 before they can take off.

He said: "Babies are crying and the temperature onboard is getting unbearable."

Jacqui Liveston told BBC News: "Our 11:45 flight to Belfast has been cancelled so now we are stuck at Luton airport until 22:00."