Liverpool fans could break UK airspace record

UK airspace could see its busiest day ever as Liverpool and Tottenham football fans jet off to the Champions League final in Spain.

Some 9,000 flights are predicted to take place on Friday, beating the all-time daily record of 8,854 set on May 25 2018. In Liverpool 38 extra flights will be laid on today and tomorrow.

Air traffic control (ATC) provider Nats said it expects 600 extra charter and private jet fights this weekend, on top of the 8,000-plus flights handled on a normal May day.

They have warned that delays are possible, due to "limited capacity on the ground at some airports and in the air".

Last Friday, which had been forecast to be the busiest to date, fell just shy of the record, with 8,742 flights taking place.

As the UK's skies get busier, the Government has announced plans to modernise airspace, which it said will increase environmental benefits and reduce journey times.

The Department for Transport (DfT), which likened airspace to a motorway, said infrastructure in the sky has not been updated in more than 50 years and added that their plans will increase capacity and cut delays.

The plans, which could see planes burning a fifth less fuel - equivalent to 400,000 fewer flights a year - include increasing the number of flight paths and planes making greater use of GPS-like equipment, meaning flights will be more direct.

The DfT also said plans for greater communication between air traffic controllers and planes so they can regulate their speed and be timed to come straight in for a landing slot would avoid them having to wait in queues and circle as they do now.

Nats welcomed the plans, saying: "It will mean we can better manage noise, reduce carbon emissions and minimise delays."