Air traffic control down over UK currently

[Margoliciously]

Anyone else heard this? A national shutdown of air traffic control as system goes down.

Have you had any sleep? What a joke.

We've decided if we can't get on this flight Wednesday then we're going to cancel and rebook another time. With another airline, I was dubious about Ryan air to begin with never usually fly with them. I know it's something that's out of the airlines control but I really thought we'd be able to go still (expecting a delay) considering the flight was this morning so was gutted when it was just cancelled

I'm stuck at the airport with no information and pretty sure my flight will be cancelled its just a matter of time. Currently showing 90mins delay but 5 other flights already cancelled. British Airways haven't communicated anything, just a vague message on the app saying expect disruption. Useless!

Ds1 says he's checked in at New York, back to London tonight, so that's good.

We are stuck in Verona. Got an email from Ryanair yesterday whilst we were on the bus on the way to the airport to say flight was cancelled. We could rebook with them or get a refund. Next flight back with Ryanair was Thursday but this was fully booked so next available flight was a week after our original one. We are all due back at work and school before then.

No further offer of help from Ryanair so we then spent hours online trying to find alternatives but there isn't anything available that isn't ridiculously expensive or with extra stops so journey times of 12-24 hrs and even more. I had one booked but unconfirmed for a few hours but it fell through.

Luckily we managed to book back into our original hotel but they have a minimum 3 night policy. We took it not knowing how long it would take to get a flight.

We are now rebooked for Wed to Belfast with a 6+ hr wait for a connection to Manchester. It was the best I could find for not a lot more than the original flight.

I was worried about ongoing disruption so was dubious about booking for today (Tuesday)

Not sure what we can do about claiming extra costs as apparently compensation isn't paid when it's not the airlines fault. However I have read that the airline are supposed to make more effort to rebook you and should offer you flights on other airlines if you can't rebook with them in a reasonable time. We couldn't even get hold of Ryanair to ask for help.

Going to try to make the best of an extra day now but boys are desperate to get home.

@Mumski45 I'm in a similar position, couldn't get hold of my airline so have booked with another carrier at my own expense. No idea if it will be covered but I just want to get home - my 3 year old back home is missing me! My new flight is supposed to be late tonight, I'm just hoping the knock on effect of the disruption has eased off by then...

I had a similar problem last Thursday (flight cancelled), to the best of my knowledge airlines have to reimburse you if you book a flight with another airline.

It’s nothing they advertise on their websites though. Obvious reasons.

Their obligation is to get you to your destination as quickly as possible after your cancelled flight.

This also applies if the cancellation isn’t their fault. It’s only that you won’t get actual compensation for the delay itself then. They still have to get you to your destination.

Any problems with getting refunds out of them, I wouldn’t faff about: Small Claims Court. It’s the only language they understand.

Was it Manchester to Ibiza with Jet2. Dd and friend were both booked on that and were so excited. Was showing as scheduled and on time on the airport website but had the same messages as you and now cancelled .

I understand it's not the airlines fault this time but it is stressful.

I hope you manage to get home soon @MendedDrum. We are OK but I do feel for people in more difficult situations with younger children or less flexible work patterns.

DH can work a bit as long as he has access to a phone, he doesn't have his laptop though so can't fully contribute. I'm not due back till Thursday as I'm part time.

Luckily we have the ability to shell out extra cost temporarily and claim it back but I know this isn't the case for everyone.

Our biggest issue is that I have diet issues (coeliacs) so access to food is always an problem and I usually research hotels thoroughly before booking. I would find it hard to just pick any hotel randomly near an airport without knowing they could accommodate my diet which is why we are back where we started.

Thanks @BabyShaark that's good to know. I think it's the accommodation costs which may be an issue.

However at the moment I can't get into the flight on the Ryanair website to claim my money back.

@BabyShaark I'd heard that too but wasn't sure if it applies if you book the replacement flight with another carrier yourself, which is what I've done, or only if your original airline sorts it for you. Fingers crossed it's either, because there was no way the airlines had enough staff yesterday to book each affected person onto the soonest flight on any carrier.

@WinterDeWinter how’s it looking?

@MendedDrum we went to the ticket office at Verona but were told as there were no flights with Ryanair for a week to just look online. We tried to ring but couldn't get through. Available flights were disappearing fast. We used sky scanner which was frustrating as when we clicked through some options which looked OK in reality they weren't available.

If we had wasted time trying to get hold of Ryanair and expecting them to sort it for us I'm sure we would have been stuck here for longer.

@Mumski45 snap, I could just see the seats vanishing and couldn't wait to get through to my carrier to do it 'officially'. Maybe it would have been different if I had already been at the airport when my flight was cancelled 🤷🏼‍♀️

We're at Stanstead and it seems to all
Be back to normal. Flights taking off on time.

Good to know @Grrrpredictivetex - hope you get to Palma today!

My friend has taken off on her rebooked flight this morning with only a small delay so I remain hopeful for my flight later.

@huggiess really hope you get some clarification on your flight soon!

I can see another Ryan air flight from a different airport, if I book that one does Ryan air have to reimburse us ?

What a nightmare! How will get everyone home? Extra flights?

That's kind of the position I'm in @huggiess - I'm very much hoping that as long as I cancel my official rebooked flight later this week, that my airline will cover the one I've booked myself for today. Posters upthread have been reassuring on that point, although I would say the official guidance is kind of ambiguous. I'm lucky though in that I'm travelling for work so ultimately I should get reimbursed one way or another 🤞🏻

I don't think there will be extra flights @DyslexicPoster, I think we will all just have to filter back over the next few days whenever there are spaces on flights. It's a real pain - I have work and childcare responsibilities, and quite apart from the responsibilities I am missing my family! - but I can't get back any sooner.

I am so sorry for you and your poor ds. Family holidays are so long awaited and planned for. I really hope you get to go somewhere nice this year.

We did think at one point that the email saying don't come yet as the flight was being rescheduled was sent in error as it looked like it was going ahead on the websites. There was even a gate number. DD and friend were contemplating travelling to the airport so I'm glad they didn't. So very disappointing for so many people, especially children.

very unlikely. People will have to find and book the small number of free seats on operating flights - but it’s an exceptionally busy week so some people won’t be able to find seats for many days. If travelling between two big cities it won’t be so bad as there will be more options (including the train). It’s extra rubbish if you’re on a green island with very few connections.

airlines always say they cancel the multi-frequency routes first (as those passengers will have more options) but it doesn’t always work that way. Certainly domestic flights are the first to get cut.