BREAKING NEWS: URGENT -- London airspace closed due to computer failure

USPA News - Airspace near London has been closed due to a computer failure in England, halting all flights in the region, British and European aviation officials said on Friday. NATS, the main air navigation service provider in the United Kingdom, said the problems were the result of a technical failure at the London Air Traffic Control Center in Swanwick.

"Every possible action is being taken to assist in resolving the situation and to confirm the details," it said in a statement, giving no further details. Eurocontrol, the agency charged with coordinating air traffic management across Europe, said air traffic in the London region would be suspended until at least 1900 GMT. "The UK National Air Traffic Computer system has suffered a failure. This means that until the system recovers, area control units in the London (flight information region/FIR) does not accept traffic," it said in a notice to air traffic controllers. The notice added: "Departures planned for the London FIR/UIR has been temporarily stopped."