Red Cross has set up at the airport of Tenerife South a rest area for travelers affected by the chaos caused by the technical failure that affected on Monday the UK air traffic system.
The NGO has installed in the Tenerife terminal 50 beds and hygiene kits for those affected by this incidentwith special attention to the elderly and children.
Thousands of passengers were unable to travel to and from the UK yesterday due to a technical problem that altered the flight planning systems in this country, but could later be resolved, according to the NATSthe air traffic provider.
London airport heathrow has indicated that people who have flights today contact their airlines to find out the status of their trips before going to the terminalwhile the also Londoner from Gatwick indicated that expects to operate a normal servicealthough it also asked passengers to contact their airlines.
London airport luton advised that flights in the UK are still subject to delays or cancellations. The British Minister for Transport, Mark Harperapologized today to travelers for the interruption of their trips.
“The system was fixed yesterday afternoon and things are back to normalbut obviously there are some interruptions that will continue today and I know that thousands of people have been affected,” Harper added in a statement to local media.
“I hope the airlines assume their responsibilities to ensure that people return home, provide them with an alternative flight and take care of food, drink and accommodation,” the minister said.
Furthermore, the minister discarded that yesterday’s problem was related to a cybersecurity incident, but that a report will be made on what happened.
NATS explained yesterday that the problem in flight planning “affected the system’s ability to automatically process flight planswhich implied that these had to be processed manually”, which required air restrictions.
The incident caused chaos at airports, a festive day in the United Kingdom and the return of many travelers from their summer holidays.