Passengers stay overnight in Dublin Airport as travel disruptions continue

20 flights in and out of Dublin Airport have been cancelled today because of technical faults with air traffic control in the UK.

The fault, which occurred on Monday, knocked out the UK’s National Air Traffic Services computer system for three hours.

The issue affects air passage between Ireland and Britain as well as flights using UK air space.

Affected destinations include Cork, Naples, Verona, Riga, Liverpool, Cagliari as well as Heathrow and London City.

115 flights were cancelled yesterday, and the disruption could span days.

“There is going to be some knock-on impact today and I suspect for another few days as airlines get their planes and get their services back to normal,” British transport minister Mark Harper told the BBC.

The UK national air traffic control service @NATS is working to resolve a technical issue. UK airspace is not closed but @NATS has applied air traffic flow restrictions to ensure they can maintain safety. Please contact your airline for the very latest status of your flight. https://t.co/sOJC80avBY

— Dublin Airport (@DublinAirport) August 28, 2023

The Dublin Airport team provided blankets and refreshments to those who were forced to stay in the terminals overnight.

"Passengers intending to fly from Dublin Airport today are advised to check the status of their flight with their airline, before travelling to the airport," said the DAA on social media this morning. "Passengers needing to re-book flights are encouraged to do so via their airline’s app or website."