A couple from the Glasgow area fear they may miss their booked Las Vegas wedding slot after their British Airways flight from Glasgow to Heathrow was cancelled on Monday, September 21, due to an air traffic control (ATC) issue. Barbara Ann Stoddart and Andrew Lithgow, along with their three children, best man, and a friend, were due to fly to Las Vegas on Monday but have been rebooked on a flight departing late afternoon on Tuesday, causing them to miss a full day of their planned schedule.
Wedding Plans in Jeopardy
Barbara Ann Stoddart, the bride-to-be, expressed her distress: “I’m completely stressed out. This has been planned for about a year-and-a-half, going away to get married, and the flight has now been cancelled, so we’re going to miss a full day as we won’t be there till tomorrow night.”
The couple had intentionally planned to arrive in Las Vegas three days before their Saturday wedding to obtain a marriage licence from the county court. Stoddart noted that they had scheduled the licence application for Tuesday to allow a 24-hour buffer for any processing delays, but the cancellation has now eliminated that safety margin. “The wedding chapel and everything is already booked and paid for as well, and it’s on the Saturday, so we can’t rearrange it,” she added.
Air Traffic Control Disruption
National Air Traffic Services (Nats) confirmed that flights were delayed in Scotland, Northern Ireland, and northern England on Monday due to an ATC issue. The company stated that this issue was unrelated to a software fault at Nats on September 8, which had caused more than 2,000 flight cancellations and disrupted hundreds of thousands of passengers.
Andrew Lithgow said he is trying to remain calm but is worried about the uncertainty: “We’re stuck here for the next six hours. What happens if that flight doesn’t take off? That’s when I might actually start being irate and panicking.”
Other Passengers Affected
Sheila and Raymond McLaren, from Netherburn, South Lanarkshire, were also affected. Their early afternoon flight from Glasgow to Heathrow was cancelled, and the rebooked flight would arrive too late to catch their connection to Vancouver. They have been rebooked on a Tuesday flight to Vancouver, hoping to arrive in time to join a cruise departing from the Canadian city on Wednesday.
Sheila McLaren said: “We’re picking up a cruise in Vancouver so it’s just as well we’re going early otherwise we might miss the cruise as well. It’s frustrating, but what can you do?”
Compensation Unlikely
The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has said that passengers impacted by Monday’s disruption are “unlikely to be entitled to compensation.” A CAA spokesperson stated: “We know many passengers have faced disruption and frustration following a technical issue at Nats Prestwick centre in Scotland on Monday 21 September, and we understand the impact this has had on their travel plans.”
The spokesperson added that airlines have been reminded of their duty to look after passengers whose flights are delayed or cancelled. “We consider that disruption caused by the technical issue at Nats Prestwick centre in Scotland on 21 September is likely to be considered the result of ‘extraordinary circumstances’ under passenger rights rules. This means that although passengers should be looked after by airlines, they are unlikely to be entitled to compensation for delays or cancellations that were directly caused by the incident.”
