London: Air traffic controllers in the United Kingdom has warned that there are so many planes in the air that the country's skies are quickly running out of room.

The National Air Traffic Control Service (NATS) expected Friday to be the busiest day of the year with a record 8,800 flights criss-crossing British airspace.

"We will soon reach the limits of what can be managed without delays rising significantly," said Jamie Hutchison, the director of NATS.

Over the course of the northern summer, air traffic controllers in the UK will manage 770,000 flights, which is 40,000 more than last year.

The reason for the uptick, according to NATS, is to do with British travellers shunning more politically volatile destinations such as Egypt, Turkey and Tunisia in favour of the US, Spain and Italy.

NATS said that shift had "resulted in major changes in the flows of traffic, and with many schools now breaking up the demand for flying is expected to reach new levels."

Mr Hutchison said that the way planes are guided across British airspace needed modernisation.

"The UK's airspace was designed decades ago and doesn't allow us to take advantage of the technology on board modern aircraft that would raise capacity, and also reduce emissions and noise for communities on the ground," he said.

After a lengthy review, the British government decided last year that it wants Heathrow Airport – Europe's busiest – to get a third runway. However, if it gets final approval it won't be built for at least a decade and faces opposition from local residents who could see their homes compulsorily acquired for the development against their wishes.

It's not clear if an expanded Heathrow would ease or further burden British airspace.

Still, Britain's Department for Transport said if the way airspace is managed doesn't change, by 2030 there will be 3,100 days' worth of flight delays each year. That's 50 times more than in 2015. As many as 8000 flights would be cancelled annually.

McClatchy