Bid to identify cause of Scottish air traffic control problem

An investigation has been launched to identify the cause of a technical issue which led to flight delays at Scotland’s main airports.

Edinburgh, Glasgow, Aberdeen and Prestwick airports were all affected by an overnight technical problem at the Scottish Air Traffic Control centre at Prestwick, South Ayrshire.

Nats, which provides air traffic control services in the UK, said there had been interference on some radio frequencies used to speak to aircraft, affecting part of the Scottish airspace.

The airports affected later reported that operations were getting back to normal following the early morning delays.

In a statement, Nats said: “We would like to again apologise for any inconvenience caused to passengers and our airline and airport customers by today’s technical problem at Prestwick centre.

“Detailed analysis is currently under way to identify the root cause of the interference on our radio frequencies.

“In the meantime we are now successfully managing normal traffic levels without adding any additional delay to that incurred this morning.

“We expect the operational impact of the continuing investigation to be minimal to the travelling public.”