All flights at Scotland’s busiest airport have now resumed after an apparent IT issue affected the facility’s Air Traffic Control (ATC), grounding flights from 08:30 local time on Friday, December 5.
Passengers took to social media to report that they had been stuck in planes on the runway, some for several hours.
Speaking earlier, a spokesperson said that 27 departures and 11 arrivals had been affected by the situation, which it later described as “fluid.”
However, flights have now resumed, and the airport thanked passengers “for their patience and understanding.” It said that further updates will be added to the airport’s social media platforms “when we have them.”
Knock-on effects are expected, and the airport has warned that passengers should check with their airlines before travelling. Various cancellations have already been made, including flights to London Gatwick, London Luton, Bristol, Amsterdam and Frankfurt. Several arrivals were also diverted to other airports, including a Delta Airlines flight from New York JFK that ended up in Dublin.
Edinburgh Airport’s ATC is provided by Air Navigation Solutions LTD (ANSL), and the UK’s wider ATC network, covered by NATS, remains unaffected.
Steven Faughnan told the BBC that he boarded a Ryanair flight from Edinburgh Airport that was scheduled to depart at 09:05 for Bergamo, Italy. He said that passengers boarded the aircraft at 08:30 for a 09:05 take-off. “The pilot announced there was a small delay due to technical problems at the airport,” Steven said.
“About five minutes later, he announced that it would be at least an hour,” he continues. “The pilot has just announced there is no update at the moment from the airport. So who knows, and we are still stuck on the tarmac.”
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