Can we get compensation after the air traffic failure?

Q Our flight was delayed and should have left before Wednesday’s air traffic failure. Then the failure happened, and our flight was subsequently cancelled. Are we entitled to financial compensation?

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Clare B

A You were among around 25,000 passengers whose flights were cancelled on Wednesday and yesterday as a result of the “software glitch” at Nats, the national air traffic control service. The event temporarily closed the skies above southeast England and led to dozens of diversions and delays. In peak summer, there is little slack in the system. With planes, pilots and passengers out of position, cancellations swiftly began.