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<\/p>\nTRAVEL chaos hit one of the UK's major airports today as dozens of planes were grounded for HOURS.<\/p>\n
Gatwick air traffic control experienced a major systems outage at around 8am with more than 20 flights now delayed.<\/p>\n
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No planes were allowed to depart while the airport attempted to reset the system.<\/p>\n
Some aircraft that were due to take off were sent back to their stands.<\/p>\n
Delays from the outage are likely to carry on all day.<\/p>\n
Several easyJet journeys were delayed including planes for Milan-Malpensa, Tenerife and Geneva.<\/p>\n
A spokesperson for London Gatwick LGW said: "There was an outage to a local NATS system earlier this morning which has now been rectified.<\/p>\n Has your journey been impacted by the outage? Contact: Jonathan.Rose@thesun.co.uk<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n "No cancellations have resulted from this, but some passengers may experience delays.<\/p>\n "We apologise for any inconvenience."<\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n <\/span><\/p>\n Passengers took to Twitter to express frustration and share their experiences.<\/p>\n One tweeted: "We're stuck on the tarmac at Gatwick south, apparently we have a take off time, but now there's a queue of 20+ planes\u2026."<\/p>\n Another said: "It's now 8:27am, Saturday 9th December. I've been sitting an hour and a half in an EasyJet plane which should be going to Montpellier, France. <\/p>\n "It hasn't moved. Some issue with no departing flights being accepted, only inbound flights."<\/p>\n A third commented: "Stuck at PMI Mallorca with no info. I see almost every flight arrival this morning is delayed – any issues? Some information would be helpful."<\/p>\n BBC presenter Tina Daheley quipped: "Winning the lottery in 2023 is also getting a plane from @Gatwick_Airport that leaves on time.<\/p>\n "'System failure' means our flight to Tenerife is currently delayed for an unspecified amount of time."<\/p>\n It comes after thousands of air passengers were stranded by a major air traffic control failure in August.<\/p>\n The "technical issue" grounded 500\u00a0flights\u00a0across the UK.<\/p>\n![](\"https:\/\/www.thesun.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/12\/OP-OMF-RYANAIR.jpg\")
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