Flight delays still possible as backlog is cleared

Passengers travelling this weekend are being warned delays are still possible as airports work to clear the backlog of flights.

Dozens were cancelled and many others delayed following a technical glitch in an air traffic control system, which has now been fixed.

A Gatwick spokesman said: "Some cancellations should be expected and passengers are advised to contact their airline for the latest flight information.

"But the situation is improving and we are hoping to restore a near normal service later this evening."

At Heathrow, there were 70 cancellations out of about 1,300 scheduled flights.

A spokesman said: "They're coming back to normal now. The problem that we'll have this evening is that it'll take us a while to get through those flights that were scheduled to depart."

He added the airport had extra staff on duty and will be open later than usual to try and get stranded passengers in the air.

Any further flight cancellations will be up to individual airlines so passengers are being advised to check before they travel.