Flights from Newquay, Plymouth and Exeter have been delayed

Many flights due to leave the UK were grounded while controllers handled traffic already in the air.

Flights from Newquay, Plymouth and Exeter are set to be delayed on Thursday morning, although passengers are advised to check in as normal.

But the Skybus service to the Isles of Scilly has not been affected.

Flights grounded

Mike Coombes, from Air South West, said the first flights of the day from Plymouth and Newquay were able to get away more or less on time, but delays were being experienced.

"We are starting to see some movement of aircraft around the country at the moment and we are hoping to get passengers on their way as quickly as possible.

"But unfortunately passengers can expect to see a little bit of disruption today."

At Newquay Airport, Ryanair says their flights will be running about an hour later than scheduled throughout the rest of the day.

National Air Traffic Services said flights in the UK were grounded for about an hour on Thursday morning so that controllers could prioritise on planes in the air, but safety was unaffected.

It said the failure was due to the breakdown of a computer at West Drayton control centre which processes the details of flights in and out of the UK.