UK flight delays

Thousands face flight delays due to a "technical issue" with Britain's air traffic control system. Holidays across the UK and abroad have been canceled after the National Air Traffic Service (Nats) said it was imposing restrictions on traffic.

Passengers are advised to check if their flight is affected by one of the biggest travel days of the year.

Someone told BBC News that he had to wait until the early hours to catch a delayed flight to the UK.

Nats apologized for the inconvenience before announcing at 3:15 p.m. Monday afternoon that the issue was affecting "his ability to meet flight plans."

Engineers added that they will follow the operation of the system when the system returns to normal.

had previously said that "England airspace is not closed and we must use air restrictions to ensure security".

Several UK airports and airlines, including Ryanair, easyJet, Wizz Air, Loganair and Aer Lingus, have issued warnings to passengers about delays or cancellations of flights.

British Airways said it needed to make "significant changes" to its flight schedule and advised passengers to monitor the status of their flights because it "would not work well".

Former British Airways pilot and current aviation consultant Alastair Rosenschein described the disruption as "massive" and said it would also damage cars if all roads in the country were closed. "This is a real nightmare,"

told BBC Radio 5 Live.

Chris Wroe told BBC News that he and his family were awaiting British Airways' delayed return flight to London at an airport in the Netherlands.

A father with a one-year-old said, "The app says he'll be leaving at 2:00 tomorrow morning." "Maintenance personnel just said there's been an indefinite delay." "So we don't know how long we're going to stay here," said

Kim Rabbits, in Lanzarote, where the plane was stuck on the tarmac and told passengers not to accept any flights to England. "We all got on the plane, the doors were closed, and when the green light came on we were told we had to stay where we were,"

told News 5 Live.

BBC correspondent Alex Murray said he would be flying from Bari, Italy, to the UK, but passengers were told to expect a six-hour delay.

"We are waiting for the check out time to see if we can go now," he said.

The delay can affect thousands of people. Aviation data firm Cirium said 3,049 flights will depart from UK airports on Monday, with 3,054 flights scheduled to arrive. It is unclear when the problems started.

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What are my rights if my flight is canceled or delayed? According to

travel journalist Simon Calder, planes are slowly descending, but the "flow" of landing planes has decreased.

He told BBC News that Bank Holidays is one of the busiest days of the year on Monday, when many people return from long trips abroad, noting that Britain's Heathrow Airport is the world's largest airport and Gate Wake Airport is the airport. The world's busiest single-runway airport.

"I'm not sure when it will be fixed," he said, adding that management "doesn't know at this stage what is causing the problem or how to fix it." "I'm afraid many people will wake up tomorrow in a place they don't want to wake up," said

.

Ryanair said it "will have to delay/cancel some flights" while Wizz Air said there could be "significant delays or even cancellations".

British Airways said it is working with NATS to "understand the ramifications" of the issue and will inform passengers of the situation, while Aer Lingus said it will check the status of passengers' flights before they leave for the airport.

London Secretary Luton, Stansted, Heathrow and Gatwick said they were having problems and asked passengers to contact their company. Liverpool John Lennon Airport said "some flights may be delayed", while Edinburgh Airport asked passengers to board.

Transport Minister Mark Harper recommended that "passengers should contact their airline for the latest flight information".

The Liberal Democrats urged the prime minister to convene an Emergency Committee, while the Labor Party said the situation was "extremely worrying".

Irish Transport Minister Jack Chambers has warned that problems in the UK will have a "significant" impact on flights to and from Ireland.

UK Airports told BBC News that air traffic control issues in the UK were "causing delays and cancellations for some flights in and out of Dublin Airport".