NATS radar systems failed on Sunday evening forcing diversions to Stansted, East Midlands and Liverpool airports
(Image: Tom Maddick / SWNS)
A power cut at Birmingham Airport triggered by severe weather resulted in delays and diversions for travellers.
In the aftermath of the chaos brought by Storm Goretti, persistent wet and blustery conditions prevented arrivals at the airport, forcing numerous flights to be redirected, reports Birmingham Live..
Only departing aircraft were able to operate as the technical fault caused disruption from Sunday evening (January 11) into the early hours of Monday morning. At least 12 flights were diverted with others cancelled or facing delays of up to four hours.
Aircraft touched down at airports including Stansted, East Midlands and Liverpool’s John Lennon Airport. A spokesperson for National Air Traffic Service’s (NATS) told Birmingham Live: “We have restored our radar serving Birmingham Airport following an earlier power outage caused by bad weather and it is now operating normally again.
“We are working closely with the Airport as they resume their air traffic service and apologise to passengers who are affected by this issue.”
NATS engineers worked with National Grid to resolve the problem as swiftly as possible.
Aircraft were redirected from as early as 7.45pm on Sunday evening. This marks the second occasion passengers at the Midlands airport have experienced disruption owing to weather conditions in the past three days.
Storm Goretti led to operations being shut down on Friday, January 9 as snow covered the runway. A spokesperson for the airport stated at the time: “Due to heavy snow runway operations have been suspended. Passengers due to travel should contact their airline regarding the status of flights.”