Major update on flight chaos as Air Traffic Control boss reveals REAL reason thousands of Brits are stranded abroad

THE boss behind UK Air Traffic Control has broken his silence on flight carnage gripping the UK - as thousands of Brits remain stranded abroad.

NATS CEO Martin Rolfe said dodgy flight data - possibly from a French airline - caused two back-up systems to suspend automatic processing.

Instead of the error being rejected, it prompted a shutdown of the entire system to stop incorrect safety-related information being passed to an air traffic controller.

There are no indications the failure was caused by a cyber-attack but the rare "technical issue" grounded flights and plunged airports into chaos.

In a grovelling statement on Tuesday, Mr Rolfe apologised to everyone affected.

But he warned "knock-on effects" will still be felt, despite the issue being resolved on Monday afternoon.

He said on Tuesday evening: “Very occasionally technical issues occur that are complex and take longer to resolve. 

"In the event of such an issue our systems are designed to isolate the problem and prioritise continued safe air traffic control.

“This is what happened yesterday. At no point was UK airspace closed but the number of flights was significantly reduced."

Instead of the error being rejected, it prompted a shutdown of the entire NATS system.

Around 300,000 airline passengers are believed to be affected by the disruption - with dozens of airlines cancelling flights.

Ryanair boss Michael O’Leary said his airline had to cancel "about 250 flights" which he said affected around "40,000 passengers".

Other airlines were forced to cancel flights amid the chaos.

One of those affected was pensioner Ken who had to refuse easyJet's offer of a £50pp per night hotel until the next flight in just under two weeks because he cannot afford it.

He told The Sun: “It’s absolutely disgusting. I’ve finished my holiday in Gran Canaria but there’s nobody from easyJet talking to us.

"They don’t care a damn about us. The next flight is in 12 days so we are stuck here."

Other young families are also stuck in the airport in Gran Canaria with children without anywhere they can afford to stay in.

And grim scenes at Palma Airport in Mallorca on Tuesday saw kids sleeping in baggage trolleys and exhausted parents desperately seeking answers.

Meanwhile Stansted Airport was rammed with travellers desperately seeking answers amid the chaos on Tuesday

And Malaga Airport reportedly ran out of beer after travellers drunk it dry.

It comes as thousands of Brits have been warned they could be refused compensation after their flights were cancelled amid the recent air traffic chaos.