AIR TRAFFIC CONTROL PROBLEMS DELAY UK FLIGHTS

Admin Sat 07 Dec 2013, 12:25 pm

Many flights delayed at UK airports
Air Traffic Control Problem Delays UK Flights
Flights at airports across the UK - including Heathrow and Gatwick - have been delayed or cancelled by an air traffic control system problem.

Thousands of passengers have seen their flights delayed by a "technical problem" at southern England's main air traffic control centre in Swanwick, Hampshire.

Airports in the south east of England - the world's busiest airspace - have been hardest hit, with the knock-on impact disrupting flights across the UK and further afield.

Passengers have complained about a lack of information as they spend hours stuck on planes, waiting to find out if their flights will take off.

Eurocontrol, which coordinates air traffic control across Europe, has said the technical problem will not be fixed until 4pm at the earliest.

Gatwick Airport tweeted: "Due to air traffic control systems issues some flights may be delayed. Please check with your airline."

A Heathrow Airport spokeswoman said: "We are currently experiencing some delays."

There are also reports of delays at Stansted, Manchester, Cardiff, Southampton, Luton, London City and flights to the south from Edinburgh and Glasgow.

NATS air traffic control said in a statement: "Due to a technical problem at Swanwick we are currently experiencing some difficulty switching from night-time to daytime operation.

NATS
The problems stem from a technical issue at NATS air traffic control
"At night, when it's quiet, we can combine sectors of airspace. When it gets busy in the daytime we split the sectors out again. The voice communications system is configured to enable this to happen.

"We experienced a technical problem in the early hours of this morning, which means that it hasn't been possible to reconfigure the voice communications system to split out the sectors for the busier daytime traffic in some areas of the UK en route airspace.

"Engineers are working to rectify the problem as soon as possible, but this is resulting in some delays. Safety has not been compromised at any time, and we sincerely apologise for any inconvenience being caused to passengers."

The issue has also affected flights UK-bound flights from Ireland and Europe.

Dublin Airport tweeted: "Technical issue with air traffic control in southern England is causing a delay to some flights to England & continental Europe this AM."

Daisy McAndrew said she had been caught in the "unholy mess" at Gatwick as she tried to fly to Barcelona for work.

She told Sky News: "As ever, staff have been fantastic but they know nothing other than the fact it is going to be a very, very long delay - very frustrating.

"And also, it's embarrassing, isn't it? When you look around a lot of people on my plane are not British, they are flying British Airways, they are probably trying to get back to Spain and they will inevitably be thinking this is something that could have possibly been prevented.
Image from on board a grounded flight
Cabin crew opened the doors on a grounded flight as passengers milled about
"It doesn't show our air traffic control system or our travel system in a good light.

"I have never heard of an example where every single plane is grounded- it's quite eerie when I look out of the window to see the tarmac in Gatwick, normally so busy, and also the sky above Gatwick which is normally busy - completely static, there's nothing moving."

Mrs McAndrew said the pilot on her flight suggested the delays would causeproblems at Heathrow for two or three days.

Alwynne Gwilt, stuck at Stansted, told Sky: "We've just been stuck on the tarmac since we boarded the plane - at that point I don't think they realised quite the extent of the issue.

"Once we were settled in they told us there might be a delay of two hours and 45 minutes but we've had no updates since then.

"I understand that safety comes first. Unfortunately you want to make the most of it when you go away for a short getaway, but at the moment we're only seeing the yellow and blue of the Ryanair planes.

"You have to question why we had to get on the plane if they had known a little bit ahead of time. Now we're stuck with no tea, coffee, all those things you would be able to get if you were in an airport."

Radar engineer Dan Holland told Sky News the air traffic computer system runs at around 15% capacity during the night when there are fewer flights and then switches to near 100% during the day.

He said: "It seems that when they have made the switch something hasn't gone right and the data isn't being optimised enough for the safety of the passengers and the planes in UK airspace."

ky News reporter Clare Fallon said problems at Swanwick had caused a similar backlog last summer.

She said: "There were several airports, mostly in the south of England, including Heathrow, and it took several hours then for them to actually deal with that problem."

Aviation analyst Chris Yates said passengers due to arrive at UK airports from overseas could find themselves diverted elsewhere.

He said: "There are contingency plans in place whenever this happens.

"Many of the long-haul flights, coming from China, India, the US and so on, passengers sitting on those planes may find themselves diverted to continental airports.

"But it's going to be a long wait for them. When the system kicks back in and starts working, there will be a backlog of flights.

Travel journalist Simon Calder said the technical glitch was a "disaster".

He told Sky News: "The south-east of England is the busiest airspace in the world. London handles far more passengers than anywhere else including Paris, New York, Tokyo and so on.

He explained that the lack of spare capacity at airports like Heathrow means things get "very messy, very quickly" and airlines are forced to cancel flights to create firebreaks, which allow the system to keep running.

He said there was "no way" that passenger safety would be compromised due to the ongoing problems but that airlines were facing losses of millions of pounds.

He added: "If you are flying today, then good luck, if you're only delayed you're in a pretty good place."
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Admin Sun 24 Nov 2013, 11:16 pm

3 Women held for 30 YEARS
London 'Slavery': Neighbours' Shock At Claims
The women are alleged to have suffered "emotional and physical abuse", as further details about the investigation are released.7:16am UK, Sunday 24 November 2013
People living near to a house where three women were allegedly held as slaves for more than three decades have spoken of their shock at the claims.

The women - a 69-year-old from Malaysia, a 57-year-old from Ireland and a 30-year-old Briton - were taken from the property in Brixton, south London, last month after calling a support charity asking for help.

Police said the women, two of whom lived in a "collective" with a 67-year-old man they met through a "shared political ideology", had suffered "emotional and physical abuse".

The man and a woman, also 67, who came to the UK in the 1960s and are of Indian and Tanzanian origin, were arrested and released on bail.

Commander Steve Rodhouse, of the Metropolitan Police, said: "Somehow that collective came to an end and the women ended up continuing to live with the suspects.

"How this resulted in the women living in this way for over 30 years is what are seeking to establish, but we believe emotional and physical abuse has been a feature of all the victims' lives."

Kamal Francis, whose partner lives above where women held
Kamal Francis described the women as having unkempt appearances
As police carried out door-to-door inquiries to establish more details about the alleged victims, neighbours described the area around the block in Peckford Place, where the women had been living, as a "quiet" area.

One woman, who gave her name only as Valerie, said: "Seeing all this going on is quite surprising to me. It's shocking really."

Abdul Rogers said many people did not speak to each other, adding: "I don't even know my next door neighbour. If I met them on the street now I would not be able to tell it was my next door neighbour, which is not good for community cohesion."

Kamal Francis is a regular visitor to the block of flats as his partner lives directly above where the women were held.

He told Sky News: "One would be wearing a long, baggy, cardigan and a long skirt touching the floor. They had messy hair. They were not neat people."

Investigators believe the youngest of the alleged victims may have spent her entire life as a domestic slave.

Cmdr Rodhouse said police had found her birth certificate but no further documentation.

women held as 'slaves' in house in Brixton
The women lived in the Angell Town estate in Brixton
"We believe she has lived with the suspects and the other victims all her life, but of course at this early stage we are still seeking out evidence," she said.

The woman who called Freedom Charity asking for help said she had been held against her will for more than 30 years.

Aneeta Prem, who founded the organisation, said it had seen an "extraordinary" rise in calls to its helpline since the rescue of the three women came to light.

"These women have had traumatic and distributing experiences," she said.

"What needs to happen now is that the three victims, who have begun a long process of recovery, are able to go through their rehabilitation undisturbed, without being identified."

Officers said they were taking "every step" to protect the "emotionally fragile and highly vulnerable" victims.

Lambeth Council has told Sky News it is investigating whether it had ever come into contact with any of the women.

MORE HERE

LAMBETH SLAVES: 'These three women wore the invisible handcuffs of abuse' say police

POLICE investigating the suspected slavery of three women in a south London house today spoke of the decades of “brainwashing and emotional control” they may have suffered.

Admin Tue 08 Oct 2013, 1:10 pm

Undercover investigation: Imams Allow Forced, Underage Marriages in UK Mosques
http://www.actforamerica.org/
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https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=ynPU1F4jcrk

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