By Rebekah Wilson
BBC News NI
Air passengers from Northern Ireland have spoken of their frustration over being caught up in the UK air traffic control delays.
Belfast City and International Airports said on Monday that cancellations and delays were “out of our control”.
Dublin Airport said flights had been delayed and cancelled.
National Air Traffic Services (NATS) said it has”identified and remedied the technical issue” and has apologised for the disruption caused by the fault.
The main air traffic control provider in the UK added that it was “working closely with airlines and airports” to get things running as normal again.
Speaking to BBC Radio Foyle earlier, Ebonie McGregor-King, from Londonderry, said her flight to Belfast International was stuck on the tarmac at Alicante Airport.
The 18-year-old first boarded the plane at 11:40 BST.
“We were being told as we were boarding that it may not be until half 10 tonight until we could get going, but we’ve been kept on the flight just in case we were told that we can fly any earlier,” she said.
Ebonie McGregor-King says passengers on her plane in Alicante, heading to Belfast International, are very frustrated
“They’ve given us water, but if you want any food or soft drinks, or anything like that you need to pay for it.”
Ms McGregor-King said everyone on the plane is starting to get “very frustrated” and is eagerly awaiting an update about when or if they will be able to fly.
Serena Hamilton, from Cookstown, was due to travel to Newcastle for a follow-up appointment after a heart transplant on Tuesday morning.
“I had a transplant 15 months ago and these appointments are very important,” she said.
Serena Hamilton is missing a check-up appointment in Newcastle after a heart transplant
“Now I have to go home and try to get in contact with the clinic to tell them that I am not going to be able to make it.
“That’s a loss of an appointment not just for me, but someone else could have taken that appointment and I’m not going to be able to inform them because the clinic is closed today.”
Flights cancelled
Amid delays to flights across the UK, Belfast City and International Airports advised passengers to keep checking the status of their flight before travelling to the airport.
A significant number of EasyJet flights were cancelled at Belfast International Airport, including flights to Edinburgh, Newcastle, Paris and Birmingham.
Monday is a bank holiday for much of the UK and is one of the busiest days of the year for flights.
In a statement to BBC News NI, Dublin Airport said the technical issues are “resulting in delays and cancellations to some flights into and out of Dublin Airport”.
It advised all its passengers to check the status of their flights in advance.
Cork Airport tweeted that the technical issues were also resulting in delays and cancellations for flights in and out of the airport.
City of Derry Airport told BBC News NI there were some delays and two cancellations.
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Speaking to Irish national broadcaster RTÉ, Irish Minister of State at the Department of Transport Jack Chambers said the issue affecting UK airspace was expected to cause major disruption to flights to and from Ireland.
He said there would be delays for Irish air passengers in the hours ahead.
‘No information given’
One passenger at Belfast International Airport who was due to head to France at 16:00 BST told BBC News NI: “We haven’t been informed of what’s been happening – no information so far.”
However, according to the departure board in the airport, her flight is “on time – everything’s fine, everything’s on time and everything’s ready,” the passenger said.
Another passenger said they are considering getting the ferry because he has been given different times for his flight’s departure.
“My flight was meant to leave at 2:55 [pm] and it’s now saying in the board [in the airport] around four but then on the [airline] app it says about one or two in the morning.
“We’re considering getting the ferry, which is about eight hours. Hard to know what to do at the moment really.”
‘Massive inconvenience’
Image source, Charlie Bedi
Charlie Bedi said the long flight delay is a massive inconvenience
Charlie Bedi from Belfast is stuck at London Gatwick Airport after spending the weekend at the Reading Festival.
He now faces a delay of about eight hours.
“I was meant to fly at 7.20 [pm] but now I’m not flying until two in the morning, so it’s going to be a long delay.
“I can’t go to the airport any later because I have to check in my bag so I’ll have to wait in the airport for eight hours,” he added.
Mr Bedi said he found out about the incident through a notification from his airline on Monday morning.
“I have work tomorrow – this is just a massive inconvenience,” he said.
