Flights across Scotland and northern England faced delays after a technical issue at NATS’s Prestwick air traffic control centre. NATS said flights travelling north and departing Scottish airports were affected, while airports south of Manchester were broadly unaffected; the problem was separate from an incident two weeks earlier.

Ryanair described the disruption as another NATS air traffic control equipment failure and warned of delays on flights to and from the UK and Ireland. Highlands and Islands Airports said schedules at all its airports, including Dundee, Inverness and Islay, were affected, while passengers were advised to check with airlines. The incident follows a September failure that cancelled more than 2,000 flights, as well as earlier NATS technical problems causing widespread disruption.