Edinburgh Airport flights resume after IT issue grounded planes

Flights at Edinburgh Airport were halted for a few hours on Sunday because of a technology problem.

Shortly before 4:00 PM GMT, a representative from the airport announced that technicians were addressing a problem that had impacted air traffic control.

Many arriving and departing flights faced long delays, and some were even canceled.

In a recent announcement, the airport confirmed that the problem had been addressed and flights started again around 7:00 PM. However, travelers are still recommended to verify their flight status with their airline prior to heading to the airport.

As engineers worked to resolve the issue, many flights were either canceled or redirected for several hours. These included several flights that have now arrived at Glasgow Airport:

A Turkish Airlines flight that was scheduled to depart from Istanbul at 15:30, along with a Ryanair flight that was set to leave Gran Canaria at 16:05, was redirected to Manchester Airport.

In a message shared on X on Sunday night, Edinburgh Airport announced: "The technical problem impacting Air Traffic Control has been fixed, and flights are back to normal."

"We appreciate our passengers for their patience and understanding."

Air Navigation Solutions, which handles air traffic control at Edinburgh Airport, told the BBC that the issues were caused by "a technical problem."

"Our engineering team has successfully fixed the system, and flight operations resumed at 6:25 PM. We apologize for any inconvenience this may have caused."

Andrea Racekova, a trainee reporter at BBC News, was one of the individuals impacted by the cancellations.

The 26-year-old made the trip from Shetland to Edinburgh so she could board a flight back to her home in Slovakia for a crucial blood test that she has been anticipating for months.

While at the airport, she shared, "I learned about the entire situation from Ryanair employees at the boarding gate after we were instructed to line up for our flight."

"We were instructed to take a seat since the flight was delayed by at least half an hour."

Andrea held out hope for updates, but her flight was completely cancelled.

She mentioned that those nearby are quite upset, with some needing to catch connecting flights, creating a very tense atmosphere overall.

"The airport employees have been working hard to soothe everyone's nerves. They've been quite supportive, but I can see that some travelers are really distressed."