Bank holiday travellers face air traffic control delays plus rail and road disruption
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Air traffic control issues are causing trouble for people traveling over the August bank holiday, while disruptions on railways and roads are also affecting travelers across the country.
During the weekend, a lot of travelers are facing delays because Ryanair says there aren't enough air traffic control staff working in Europe.
The largest low-cost airline in Europe reported that 15 percent of its initial flights on Sunday were delayed due to air traffic control issues. It is expected that a similar percentage of flights will be delayed today as well.
During last year's bank holiday Monday, the air traffic control systems at Nats, the primary air navigation provider in the UK, ceased operations due to an unexpected flight plan. As a result, approximately 2,000 flights were called off, leaving 300,000 passengers stranded and unable to travel as planned.
One flight on Sunday evening had to change course due to significant delays, resulting in easyJet flight 8483 from London Gatwick to Basel departing over two hours behind schedule. The Airbus aircraft was on its way to the Franco-Swiss airport when it diverted approximately 10 minutes before landing, flying around 200 miles to Lyon instead.
Travelers were informed: "We apologize for the inconvenience of your flight being redirected. Air traffic control limitations have caused delays that have now pushed your flight outside of Basel airport's operating hours for today."
"Some airports have strict time limits that cannot be changed. Therefore, we had to reroute your flight."
They finished traveling overnight by bus. However, when passengers arrived in Basel to catch their flight to London, they were informed that it had been canceled. The aircraft flew back empty from Lyon to Gatwick.
The airline made the choice because the plane had landed but did not have enough time to refuel and board new passengers before the 11pm take-off restriction. The Independent reached out to easyJet for a comment.
Many airline travelers experienced delays on their train trips to and from major London airports on Sunday night due to several problems.
Trains going to and from London Paddington were temporarily stopped because decorations from the Notting Hill Carnival got caught in the overhead wires.
A representative for Network Rail stated that there were several incidents in the Ladbroke Grove area, such as a trespasser and objects being thrown onto the overhead lines. This caused passenger services to be suspended on all lines for safety reasons.
Passenger services were limited because there were plastic streamers stuck in the overhead wires. These objects needed to be taken out safely before normal services could resume.
We sincerely apologize to all passengers who have been inconvenienced and we appreciate their continued patience and understanding during this period of disruption.
Furthermore, there were problems on the Thameslink line connecting Luton and Gatwick airports to central London, including a track issue and an electrical failure. Additionally, a broken rail at Harlow caused disruptions to the Stansted Express service.
Train travelers have had a more difficult bank holiday weekend than anticipated. Scheduled maintenance work has caused disruptions on three important train lines to and from London, resulting in closures, cancellations, and reroutes.
The East Coast main line, which links London King's Cross with Yorkshire, northeastern England, and Scotland, is now open again. However, LNER, the main company running the trains, has had to reduce some services due to a lack of staff and ongoing engineering work delays in other areas.
In the western part of England, construction at London Euston has caused a decrease in the amount of trains running due to the HS2 project being put on hold. Additionally, the Great Western route that goes through the Severn Tunnel is currently unavailable, leading to trains from South Wales to London being rerouted through Gloucester, resulting in longer travel times by approximately an hour.
Apart from the engineering tasks, GWR passengers experienced many cancellations because there weren't enough staff available: approximately one out of every ten trains on Sunday was cancelled. Passengers were advised to consider traveling on Monday instead. However, this will only increase the strain on services that are already operating at full capacity.
Not enough employees are causing problems for other train companies as well. West Midlands Railway is cautioning that they may experience delays on their Snow Hill lines and Worcester - Hereford routes during the holiday weekend because they do not have enough train crew available at important locations.
Numerous trains are set to be canceled, and there will be only a few alternative buses to replace them.
The RAC is saying that there will be more traffic than usual this holiday weekend, especially on roads leading to beaches and to music festivals in Leeds and Reading. This is the busiest they have seen since 2015. Be prepared for delays!
Drivers coming back from Europe may face issues at Calais because of stricter passport checks after Brexit.
Next weekend, there will be more disruptions for travelers due to strikes. 650 UK Border Force officers at London Heathrow will be on strike from August 31 to September 3 because they are unhappy with their work schedules. Aslef train drivers will also start a series of strikes on August 31, lasting for 11 weekends, to protest against various problems they are facing.
