Newcastle International Airport statement as 'technical issue' causes disruption

Newcastle International Airport has released a statement after a 'technical issue' caused disruption here in the North East. 'Travel chaos' is being reported by airports across the UK, with several flights being delayed or cancelled as a result of the issue. National Air Traffic Services has shared information on the issue, which has caused around 200 flights to be cancelled this afternoon, according to flight monitoring website FlightRadar24, with that number expected to rise as the day goes on. Explaining the extent of the disruption in our region, a Newcastle Airport spokesperson said: 'We are aware of a technical issue affecting NATS which is impacting some flights at airports across the UK. "While some departures from Newcastle are experiencing delays, our operations have not been affected to the same extent as those at some airports in the south of the country. Passengers are advised to check with their airline for the latest flight information." Disgruntled customer Kerry Smith, who was trying to travel to Dalaman on the 1.55pm EasyJet flight, has said: "Newcastle Airport are boarding flights knowing that there are significant delays. "We were told to expect four and a half hours of sitting in a holding position before takeoff, but I don't understand why planes are being boarded. We are now back in departures and are yet to get any updates on what we can do next." In an initial message at 1.46pm, NATS said this: "We are investigating a technical issue which is causing some disruption to flight departures. Our engineers are on site and we will provide an update as soon as we can. "We apologise for the delay this will cause to journeys, passengers should check with their airline on the status of their flight, and we will provide further updates when this is possible." Then, updating travellers at 3.25pm, NATS continued: "We have identified that the issue was in our flight processing system. Our engineers are on site and working urgently to resume normal operations as quickly as possible. "We recognise the ongoing disruption to travel, for which we sincerely apologise. Flights are still departing and airspace is open, but recovery will take some time. "Passengers should check the status of their flight with their airline. We will provide further updates as soon as we have confirmed information." Finally, the latest information from NATS is as follows: "We have implemented a fix and our flight system is starting to recover. We are continuing to work closely with our airline and airport customers on recovery. "We apologise sincerely for the disruption to people's journeys today and they should continue to check with their airline." For the latest updates as the fallout from this travel disruption continues to be made clear, you can visit our dedicated live blog on the issue here. Did you know you can make ChronicleLive a preferred source of North East news in Google, which will mean you get more of our breaking news, exclusives, and must-read stories straight away? Here's more information about what this means and how to do it - you can also do it straight away by clicking here. ChronicleLive has created a dedicated WhatsApp community for breaking news and our biggest stories. You can join this WhatsApp community here. It will keep you up-to-date with news as it breaks and our top stories of the day sent directly to your phone. ChronicleLive is now on WhatsApp and we want you to join our communities. We have a number of communities to join, so you can choose which one you want to be part of and we'll send you the latest news direct to your phone. You could even join them all! To join you need to have WhatsApp on your device. All you need to do is choose which community you want to join, click on the link and press 'join community'. No one will be able to see who is signed up and no one can send messages except the ChronicleLive team. We also treat our community members to special offers, promotions, and adverts from us and our partners. If you don't like our community, you can check out any time you like. To leave our community click on the name at the top of your screen and choose 'exit group'. If you're curious, you can read our privacy notice. Join the ChronicleLive Breaking News and Top Stories community Join our Court & Crime community Join the Things to do in Newcastle and the North East community Join our Northumberland community Join our County Durham community Join our Sunderland community Join our Great North Run community Join our shopping deals and bargains community Join our Christmas and New Year community