Travel chaos has erupted across the UK as flights have been grounded at major airports, with thousands of passengers left waiting on the tarmac.
Departures from airports including Heathrow, Gatwick, Birmingham, Newcastle Luton and Stansted are on hold due to an ATC failure.
A number of passengers have taken to social media explaining how they're stuck on board their planes, unable to take off.
One wrote: "London airspace has closed just before I was due to take off, absolutely typical. Our pilot told us potential radar failure and that uk airspace south of manchester is shut as a result."
Some passengers have been diverted to mainland Europe, with one writing: "Inbound flights have been diverted. I am currently at Charles De Gaulle!!! Whilst i should have been at gatwick!!
Gatwick Airport released a statement that read: "A technical issue impacting NATS is affecting all outbound flights across the UK.
"There are currently no departures from London Gatwick while the situation is being resolved.
"We are working with NATS to resume flights as quickly as possible. Inbound flights are still landing at the airport."
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|Heathrow is one of the airports affected (stock pic)
"Passengers should check the status of their flights with their airline."
A similar statement from Edinburgh Airport read: "Due to a technical issue impacting NATS, all departures from Edinburgh Airport are currently being held.
"We are waiting for further information from NATS and will provide updates when possible.
"Please check with your airline for the latest information on your flight.
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|Gatwick Airport released a statement saying that no outbound flights were taking off due to the outage
Similarly, Newcastle Airport said: "Important passenger information. An issue in London’s airspace is impacting national airport operations and all departures are currently suspended.
"We will provide an update in due course."
The National Air Traffic Services (NATS) also released a statement that read: "As a result of a technical issue at NATS Swanwick air traffic control centre, we are limiting the number of aircraft flying in the London control area in order to ensure safety, which is always our first priority.
"We apologise for any delays this may cause. Our engineers are working hard to resolve the problem as quickly as possible and we are working closely with airlines to help minimise disruption.
"At this stage we cannot say how long it will be before operations are back to normal.
"Please check with your airline on the status of your flight."