Irish flight disruption: 20 flights cancelled at Dublin Airport today after hundreds spend night on the floor

Airlines have cancelled 20 flights into and out of Dublin Airport on Tuesday as a result of the knock-on impact of an air traffic control technical fault in the United Kingdom.

The travel disruption affecting flights could last for days as further departures and arrivals were affected on Tuesday morning, in addition to the 115 flights cancelled yesterday.

Hundreds of disgruntled passengers faced a night at Dublin Airport after the UK fault had a knock-on effect across the network, and there are warnings of further delays despite the issue being “remedied” on Monday.

“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 on Tuesday.

He added government officials did not believe the technical problem was the result of a cyber attack.

The Dublin Airport team worked through the night to help and support any passengers who were staying overnight in the terminals, providing blankets and refreshments, while several food and beverage outlets were kept open all night.

The destinations affected by Tuesday morning’s flight cancellations include Liverpool, Naples, Verona, Riga, Cagliari, Heathrow and London City. A further four flights were cancelled to and from Cork Airport this morning.

A spokesman for DAA – which manages the airports in both Cork and Dublin – told The Irish Times its team was “working hard to ensure impacted passengers are able to resume their travel plans as quickly and as safely as possible”.

“Passengers intending to fly today are advised to check the status of their flight with their airline, before travelling to the airport. Passengers needing to re-book flights are encouraged to do so via their airline’s app or website,” he said.

“Passengers travelling on Tuesday can expect Dublin Airport to be busy, particularly in the early morning period, but additional airport resources are being deployed to help them on their way and to ensure high standards for passengers travelling through.

“For any of our car park customers delayed coming back into Dublin Airport as a result of the ATC issues in the UK, we are waiving any additional parking fees they may have incurred. Impacted passengers should speak with a member of staff on the ground or use the intercom facility when exiting their car park,” the DAA spokesman said.

More than 100 flights to and from Ireland were cancelled as a result of the fault on Monday, which knocked out the UK’s National Air Traffic Services (Nats) computer system for more than three hours. The issue affected not only flights between Britain and Ireland but flights that use UK air space. There were long queues at the Ryanair desk on Monday night as passengers waited to change flights or source accommodation in Dublin.

Hundreds of people trying to return to Ireland were also affected, including four Irish competitors coming back from the World Athletics Championships. They were Kelly McGrory and Sophie Becker, who finished eighth in the world 4×400 metres final on Sunday night, along with John Fitzsimons and Mark English.

The athletes were kept on the runway for 3½ hours before being told their flight was cancelled. They were due to spend another night in Budapest before flying from Prague on Tuesday. Staff members of Athletics Ireland, fans and members of the media have also been affected by the delays.

The cancellations threw the travel plans of in excess of 10,000 passengers flying to and from Ireland into disarray with the impact of the system issues felt across Europe. The DAA – which manages the airports in both Cork and Dublin – has urged passengers to check with their airlines to establish the status of flights.

Nats said at 3.15pm on Monday it had “identified and remedied” the technical issue affecting its systems and it was working with airlines and airports to support affected flights. Juliet Kennedy, operations director at Nats, said the issue meant the automatic system that provides controllers with details of every aircraft and its route had stopped working, and what happened will be investigated “very thoroughly”.

Holidaymakers were hit by UK bank holiday travel delays, which started on Monday after the UK air traffic control failure meant flight plans had to be input manually by controllers.

While most of the flight cancellations were on routes starting or ending in UK airports, flights from other countries including many from northern and eastern Europe were also impacted due to the restriction on the UK airspace. – Additional reporting: Guardian