The turbulence caused by the collapse of the UK's air traffic control system will be felt for the rest of the week as airlines work to get their schedules back on course.
Although Monday morning's technical failure was fixed within hours – National Air Traffic Services (Nats) reported the "technical issue" had been "identified and remedied" by 3.15pm – the problem had already snowballed so that thousands of passengers, including many who hoped to return home to Ireland, found themselves stranded across Europe and beyond through no fault of their own.
There can also be only enormous sympathy for people who have had their holidays cancelled or been unable to attend important medical appointments for reasons completely beyond their control.
Others will have lost the opportunity to attend the weddings of family and friends or pay their respects at the funerals of loved ones.
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Nats said the problem with the air traffic control system meant that it could not automatically process flight plans, so they had to be handled manually. Because there is a large gap between the normal capacity of the automatic computer-controlled system and that of human controllers, restrictions on the number of planes that could be safely handled in UK airspace had to be put in place.
This meant that a day which some travel experts suggested should have been airports' busiest since the Covid-19 pandemic descended into chaos, with hundreds of flights cancelled and planes – and their pilots and crews – out of position. As well as affecting planes in and out of Belfast, there was also a major impact on Irish flights.
It is entirely correct that when the computer issue occurred, Nats acted in such a way that safety was prioritised. However, the episode does raise questions about the resilience of the air traffic control system and the robustness of the contingencies in place when problems arise. It is vital that the cause of the failure is thoroughly investigated so that travellers can have full confidence in how their flights and our skies are managed.
With so many people stranded, delayed and out of pocket, the airlines will be under intense scrutiny in the days ahead.
They are supposed to keep their customers fully informed about when they can expect to get home and also provide them with food and accommodation during the delay.
Unfortunately, it is clear from reports that these obligations are not being fully met in all cases; exhausted and stressed travellers deserve better.
