passenger

LONDON — More than 400 flights were canceled Tuesday due to a technical issue in Britain’s air traffic control system, reported the flight monitoring website Flightradar24.

Britain’s National Air Traffic Services said a problem had been identified in its flight processing system and engineers were urgently working on the issue, which affected flights across the U.K.

In an update, it said it had “implemented a fix and our flight system is starting to recover.”

About 425 flights to and from U.K. airports, including Heathrow, were canceled, affecting services operated by multiple airlines including British Airways, EasyJet, KLM and Lufthansa.

The affected airports, which also included Stansted and City in London, as well as airports in Manchester, Birmingham and Scotland, said the technical issue caused disruptions. They warned passengers to check the status of their flight with their airline.

Budget airline EasyJet said some of its flights were “unable to operate” and that the system failure caused “delays to flights across Europe.”

Some passengers took to social media to complain about being stuck on the tarmac for hours. Many expressed frustration about a lack of communication from airlines.

Heathrow’s website showed that many short-haul flights departing for European destinations had been canceled or delayed.

Arriving flights did not appear to be affected. It was not immediately clear what caused the technical problem.

“Wheel of Fortune” announcer Jim Thornton’s longtime tenure on the popular game show is officially over.

A spokesperson for Sony Pictures Television, which produces “Wheel of Fortune,” confirmed in a statement shared with The Times on Friday that Thornton’s “employment with ‘Wheel of Fortune’ has been terminated, effective immediately,” following an investigation. Sony suspended Thornton on Tuesday amid an ongoing probe into then-unspecified allegations.

A legal representative for Thornton, 61, did not immediately respond to The Times’ request for comment on Friday.

A day before TMZ first reported on the announcer‘s firing, the outlet published numerous photos that show Thornton on his laptop aboard a flight visiting a website that describes itself as a support chat for “people who are attracted to children.” In photos taken by a neighboring passenger, Thornton’s computer screen appears to show messages of one user saying they “saw a couple of cute boys and a hot little girl” at a restaurant they referred to as an “All-you-can-eat Boyfett” and a second user referring to “CP,” commonly shorthand for child pornography. The photos published by TMZ also show Thornton, who is wearing a black jacket embroidered with the “Wheel of Fortune” logo on his sleeve, appearing to type into the chat room.

Thornton’s attorney Allison Hart told TMZ that he became a suicide-prevention advocate after a loved one took their life two years ago and he has since spent time visiting crisis chat rooms to offer “support to individuals suffering from suicidal ideation.” According to TMZ, Thornton claimed an acquaintance from a suicide prevention group sent him a link to an unrelated, non-crisis chat room — the one seen in the photos. Thornton also reportedly said he quickly left the disturbing chat room “once he found out what it was.” Time stamps seen in the photos show Thornton remained in the chat room for nearly an hour.

The passenger complained about Thornton to a flight attendant and shared the photos with the crew, according to TMZ. American Airlines informed the outlet that a passenger was met by law enforcement upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport on May 14, although the airline did not identify the individual.

Thornton’s attorney also told TMZ earlier this week that he “did not engage in any illegal conduct, was not arrested and has not been charged with any crime.”

“When questioned about the complaint made by a fellow passenger on the flight, law enforcement spoke to him for five minutes or less, immediately determined that no wrongdoing had occurred and told my client he was free to go,” his attorney said.

Thornton’s “Wheel of Fortune” tenure traces back to 2011 following the death of his predecessor, Charlie O’Donnell. His game show credits include “The Price Is Right,” “The Soup,” “Jeopardy!” and “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune.” He has performed voice work for the movie “Monsters, Inc.,” and video games including “Wall-E” and “Mafia II.”

Times staff writer Andrea Flores contributed to this report.

Jim Thornton, the longtime announcer for the popular game show “Wheel of Fortune,” has been suspended following unspecified allegations.

“We have recently been made aware of allegations concerning Jim Thornton,” a spokesperson for Sony Pictures Television Studios told The Times. “He has been suspended from ‘Wheel of Fortune’ and we are recasting while we conduct a thorough investigation.”

Sony Pictures did not specify the reason for the suspension.

The allegations could possibly stem from an incident that occurred in May aboard a commercial American Airlines flight to Los Angeles, TMZ reported, when a passenger complained about Thornton to a flight attendant.

American Airlines told TMZ that a passenger was met by law enforcement upon arrival at Los Angeles International Airport on May 14, although the airline did not identify the individual.

Thornton’s attorney told the outlet that the 61-year-old “did not engage in any illegal conduct, was not arrested and has not been charged with any crime.”

“When questioned about the complaint made by a fellow passenger on the flight, law enforcement spoke to him for five minutes or less, immediately determined that no wrongdoing had occurred and told my client he was free to go,” his attorney continued.

Thornton joined “Wheel of Fortune” in 2011 following the death of announcer Charlie O’Donnell.

Thornton’s credits include “The Price Is Right,” “The Soup,” “Jeopardy!” and “Celebrity Wheel of Fortune.” Thornton’s voice was also been featured in the 2001 animated hit “Monsters, Inc.,” and video games including “Wall-E” and “Mafia II.”

A UK airport with international flights is set to undergo a multi-million redevelopment – its first in nearly a decade.

Belfast City Airport in Northern Ireland has revealed the latest plans for its £200million expansion.

The plans are part of the airport’s Master Plan 2040 and would include expanding passenger facilities as well as creating new airfield infrastructure.

There will be new airport access as well as a new forecourt, additional parking and a hotel.

There are currently no plans to extend the airport though.

The airport is also hoping to increase its operating hours from 15 to 16 hours per day.

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In addition, the airport wants to increase its annual flights from 48,000 to 61,000.

Other plans include a potential new rail connection.

The wider 2040 plan includes serving up to seven million passengers per year, compared to just 2.36million today.

Eventually there will be new aircraft stands, aprons and a taxiway too.

Routes from the airport are mainly to other UK destinations, but there are flights to Amsterdam as well as seasonal routes to destinations including Majorca in Spain.

Matthew Hall, Chief Executive of Belfast City Airport, said: “Delivery of our Master Plan is a once-in-a-generation opportunity that will benefit passengers and businesses across the region, whilst delivering key elements of the Northern Ireland Executive’s Programme for Government.

“Every airport on the island of Ireland will need to play its part in meeting future demand, and this draft Master Plan exemplifies Belfast City Airport’s commitment to doing so, while reinforcing our position as a vital economic enabler for the region.

“We want more passengers to arrive by public transport and leave their cars at home, hence a focus on greener journeys within the Master Plan.

He added that they have partnered with Translink to look into creating a new rail halt linking the airport with Belfast city centre on the Bangor line.

Passengers are being urged to check with their airline before travelling to the airport

An international airport in the UK has confirmed that it will be temporarily closed. Norwich Airport announced on social media that it would be closed between 8am and 1pm tomorrow (Friday, August 21).

This is apparently due to ‘ongoing industrial action’ involving certain members of air traffic control. The airport apologised for any disruption caused.

Passengers are being urged to check with their airline before travelling to the airport to catch their flight. In a post entitled ‘Industrial Action – Important passenger update – Friday 21 August, a statement on the airport’s social media account said: “Due to the ongoing industrial action, short of a strike, involving Prospect union members in Air Traffic Control, Norwich Airport will be closed to air traffic between 08:00 and 13:00 tomorrow, Friday 21 August.

“Airlines have been informed of the closure. Passengers should check with their airline for the latest information about their flight before travelling to the airport. We apologise to passengers for the inconvenience this may cause.

“Discussions with Prospect are continuing and we remain committed to resolving the dispute through constructive dialogue.”

A further statement on the website added: “The Prospect union has informed us that its Air Traffic Control members at Norwich Airport have voted in favour of industrial action, short of a strike, from 17th August in relation to pay and conditions.

“Discussions are continuing and we are firmly committed to resolving this dispute through constructive dialogue that avoids disruption to airport operations.”

‘Extremely disappointing’

Prospect members are reportedly demanding a 10 per cent pay rise, having only been offered 3 per cent so far.

David Avery, the union’s national secretary for aviation, said: “It is extremely disappointing that we have still not received an acceptable offer from Norwich Airport, which has left us with little choice but to push ahead with this industrial action

“Our members in air traffic control are not making unreasonable demands. They are simply asking for pay levels and terms and conditions that are normal for their colleagues across the country.”

A spokesperson for Norwich Airport said: “It is disappointing that Prospect has chosen to announce further industrial action while negotiations to resolve the dispute are ongoing.

“We remain firmly committed to resolving this dispute through constructive dialogue and will continue to engage with Prospect with the aim of reaching agreement.”