Friday (today) is expected to be the UK airspace’s busiest day of the year, with more than 8,800 flights scheduled over a 24-hour period. 

An estimated 770,000 flights are set to travel through UK airspace over the summer - 40,000 more than last year, with the UK’s National Air Traffic Control Service (Nats) being “stretched to the limit”, according to reports by BBC News. 

Jamie Hutchison, director of Nats, said that although the record-breaking daily traffic levels have been safely managed, the ageing design of UK airspace means “we will soon reach the limits of what can be managed without delays rising significantly”. 

If UK airspace regulation remains unchanged, there will be 3,100 days’ worth of flight delays by 2030 — 50 times as many as 2015 – as well as 8,000 flight cancellations a year, according to Department for Transport estimates. 

The warnings from air traffic controllers about “overcrowded” skies coincide with the launch of the UK government’s consultation on its long-term aviation strategy. 

Transport secretary Chris Grayling said: “Our new aviation strategy will look beyond the new runway at Heathrow and sets out a comprehensive long-term plan for UK aviation.

"It will support jobs and economic growth across the whole of the UK.”

The public is also invited by the government to submit their views on a wide range of proposals from airport bag check-ins to town centre check-in desks.