All flights were suspended at Edinburgh Airport after an IT issue affecting its air traffic control services.
Passengers have been caught in travel mayhem this morning after Scotland’s busiest airport halted all flights, with several full planes sitting on the tarmac.
The cause of the IT glitch is not known yet, but it is not linked to the ongoing Cloudflare outage, Edinburgh Airport told Metro, adding that the issue is localised. Cloudflare, which provides services to major websites like Spotify and Etsy, went down this morning, blocking many major online retailers websites.
Passengers should contact their airline to check on the status of their flight.
Flights are beginning to resume after the issue was resolved shortly before 11am.
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A spokesman for Edinburgh Airport said previously: ‘Due to an IT issue with our air traffic control provider, no flights are currently operating from Edinburgh Airport.
‘Teams are working on the issue and aim to resolve as soon as possible.
‘Passengers should contact their airline for the latest information on their flight.’
Frustrated travellers took to social media as they waited on board planes, with many flights delayed by hours.
One passenger on board the Jet2 flight LS715 to Gran Canaria said people are ‘getting irritated’ while waiting inside the aircraft to take off.
Another passenger said his flight was delayed by five hours.
One person said: ‘What systems did they use before IT. Surely this should be the back up to get planes off the ground.’
Nats, the National Air Traffic Services, told Metro it does not provide services to Edinburgh Airport, but it has offered support.
The UK aviation watchdog, the Civil Aviation Authority, confirmed it was aware of the incident and advised passengers to check with their airline before travelling to the airport.
Flight-tracking website Flightradar24 showed several aircraft parked on the tarmac near the terminal when the flights were grounded.
Edinburgh Airport saw 15.8 million passengers last year. It serves 37 airlines flying to 155 destinations. The airfield has one runway.
What are your rights if your flight is cancelled or delayed?
Flight delay
You might be entitled to compensation if your delayed flight was leaving from the UK, regardless of which airline it was.
If the delay is long enough, the airline has to provide you with food and drink, access to phone calls and emails (like mobile minutes) and accommodation if the delay lasts overnight.
For a short-haul flight of less than 932 miles (1,500km) the delay has to be two hours to trigger support from the airline. For long-haul flights of more than 2,174 miles (3,500km), the delay has to be four hours.
If the flight is delayed for more than five hours, you don’t have to take it and you are usually entitled to a full refund for the flight.
Flight cancellation
If the flight is cancelled, you have a legal right to either a full refund for the flight and other flights, or a replacement flight to get to your destination.
You also have a legal right to help with costs if the cancellation delays you for over two hours, and compensation.
The amount of compensation depends when the flight was cancelled, the distance of the flight and the departure and arrival times of the replacement flight.
If you have to claim compensation or costs from the airline, keep hold of all receipts and contact the airline.
Is your journey affected? Please email noora.mykkanen@metro.co.uk to share your experience.
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