LONDON (AP) – London’s airspace was closed Friday afternoon due to what authorities said was a computer failure at one of Britain’s two air traffic control centers.
Officials at London Heathrow Airport said there was a power outage at the NATS control center in Swanwick, England and their statement gave no indication how long the situation was expected to continue. NATS controls all of British airspace from two centers, one in Swanwick and another in Scotland.
The shutdown came at a busy time at the start of the weekend in a sprawling city with five commercial airports, including London Heathrow – Europe’s busiest – as well as Gatwick, Luton, Stansted and London City Airports.
The NATS control center said “a technical problem has been reported at Swanwick air traffic control center” and an incident response team has been mobilized.
“Every possible action is being taken to assist in resolving the situation and to confirm the details,” the control center statement said.