Michael -- NOW is the time for MC to be in London! This sounds like an easy sale.
LONDON, June 18 (UPI) -- Thousands of travelers remained stranded at British
airports Sunday as air traffic controllers struggled to clear the backlog of
flights delayed by the breakdown of a main computer.
Officials said they fixed the computer system handling air traffic but warned
that most flights would continue to be delayed by several hours until the
congestion eased.
The problem began Saturday, when the main national air traffic services
computer, which deals with all aircraft entering Britain, crashed, officials
said. Britain's two largest airports, Heathrow and Gatwick, were the worst hit
by the breakdown. T he computer was fixed later Saturday, according to
officials, but the backlog built up during the breakdown-delayed flights all
over the country. Many of the stranded passengers spent Saturday night in
airport lounges.
An official investigation now under way will seek to establish the cause of the
crash, the second in a week. The computer breakdown meant that flight course
information, normally passed electronically, had to be retrieved by slower,
manual methods.
Officials sought to calm passengers and assure the media that air safety was not
compromised by the breakdown. But industry sources said airlines suffered huge
losses, and budget operator easyJet canceled all its flights on Saturday.
Critics also took the authorities to task for not having an effective back-up
system in place.
The National Air Traffic Control System is at the center of controversy over
plans by the ruling Labor Party to put it up for privatization. Critics have
said the sell-off of nearly half of the NATS will compromise safety.
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