'It's been a nightmare': Passengers face airport chaos after air traffic issue
A major technical failure in the UK's air traffic control system caused widespread flight cancellations and delays across the country. Thousands of passengers were left stranded, with officials calling for a full investigation into the outage.
Why it matters
The disruption highlights the fragility of critical national infrastructure and the significant economic and personal impact of systemic failures in aviation.
Figure caption, 'Horrendous experience': Passengers react to travel chaos
Passengers left stranded by an hours-long air traffic control issue at UK airports have told the BBC of nightmare delays, chaotic scenes and waylaid holiday plans.
Hundreds of thousands of people are thought to have been hit with flight cancellations and delays throughout Tuesday and Wednesday after a technical problem caused the air traffic outage.
That included newlyweds Sasha and James, who told BBC Your Voice they spent three hours stranded in Wetherspoons at Gatwick after their flight to their honeymoon was cancelled.
Some also described sleeping on airport floors and chaos at baggage reclaim as thousands looked to reorganise their plans, while others have been stranded abroad while trying to get back to the UK.
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