Manchester family 'stranded' in Turkey and forced to sleep on airport floor as TUI flight cancelled amid air traffic chaos

manchestereveningnews.co.uk:

A Manchester family is among hundreds of TUI holidaymakers left 'stranded' in Turkey after a UK air traffic control failure meant flight plans had to be input manually by controllers.

Abbey Pinchard, 34, a nurse at Wythenshawe Hospital, said her flight is one of those affected by the cancellations and delays that have plagued the UK airspace on Bank Holiday Monday.

Disruption is expected to continue well into the week due to the huge backlog. Abbey, her seven-year-old daughter Scarlett, and partner Mark Critchley, a 34-year-old builder, all from Wythenshawe, arrived at Dalaman Airport on Monday morning ahead of their scheduled departure from Turkey at 1.40pm local time, only to learn the flight had been among those affected by air traffic control problems. Try MEN Premium for FREE by clicking here for no ads, fun puzzles and brilliant new features. National Air Traffic Services (Nats), the country’s leading provider of air traffic control, said at 3.15pm that it had “identified and remedied” the technical issue affecting its systems and it was working with airlines and airports to support affected flights.

But meanwhile major UK airlines such as TUI and BA have warned of “significant delays” for passengers amid changes to schedules.