Cause of UK airport chaos revealed after 'cyber attack' theory

Widespread travel chaos erupted yesterday at numerous UK airports after a radar went down.

Passengers were forced to sleep in lounges across Britain as a tech glitch causes days of delays and cancellations. The outage caused significant disruption, with many airlines still recovering after air traffic control grounded thousands of planes.

Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander confirmed there was no "malign activity involved" after the airports were brought to a standstill. A “radar-related issue” caused the failure as passengers were left to deal with the knock-on effects. It comes after awarning to Brit tourists planning all-inclusive holidays to Spain.

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A source told The Times: “This was a genuine software error and the back-up systems worked as they should. They run a different programme so there is no chance of the same issue happening twice.”

Birmingham, Liverpool, Edinburgh, Stansted, Newcastle, Manchester, Gatwick, Heathrow and Luton were among the airports affected, with all outbound international flights temporarily grounded.

The chaos unfolded when radar systems at a control centre in Swanwick, Hampshire stopped showing flights at around 2.30pm. The glitch meant controllers were forced to stop accepting any new flights coming into UK airspace.

Air traffic control firm NATS apologised after its second major outage inside two years. The government said it was "working closely" with the air traffic control firm to understand what had gone wrong.

A spokesperson for NATS said: “This was a radar-related issue which was resolved by quickly switching to the back-up system during which time we reduced traffic to ensure safety. There is no evidence that this was cyber related.”

Brits left stranded by the catastrophic glitch are unlikely to receive compensation for their experiences. The issue is likely to be considered an "extraordinary circumstance", meaning it's a factor that the airline was unable to control.

Naomi Leach of Which? Travel told MailOnline: "However, you do have a right to food or a hotel stay depending on the length of the delay, but be sure you keep the receipts as you will need to claim this back from the airline.

"If you are due to travel today or tomorrow, check the advice from your airport or tour operator, or airline apps and airport social media feeds, for the most up-to-date advice."