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Arsenal's preparations for their Champions League tie against Napoli were disrupted after they were caught up in the travel chaos engulfing UK airports.
The Gunners are back in European action on Wednesday when they face the Italian side in Naples.
However, Mikel Arteta's pre-match press conference on Tuesday night had to be cancelled after Arsenal's flight to Italy was delayed.
That was because of the air traffic control issues in the UK, with planes at most major UK airports grounded on Tuesday following a 'technical failure'.
The problem has seen almost 300 flights from the UK cancelled, impacting thousands of holidaymakers along with the Premier League champions.
Arsenal's squad are now not set to arrive in Naples until 9.30PM local time.
Arsenal's preparations for their Champions League tie against Napoli were disrupted after they were caught up in the travel chaos engulfing UK airports
Hundreds of flights were cancelled after an air traffic control 'technical failure'
It was reported that they remained at the club's London Colney-based training ground while they were waiting for the issue to be resolved, before travelling to the airport later on when their new flight time was announced.
At around 6.30PM, Arsenal then shared a video on their X account of the squad boarding a plane.
In an update on Tuesday afternoon, National Air Traffic Services (NATS) said it had identified an issue with its 'flight processing system', adding that 'recovery will take some time', but said it had 'implemented a fix'.
The organisation, which provides air traffic control services to 15 UK airports, gave no details as to the cause of the problem.
But a spokesperson told the Daily Mail there is currently no indication the issue is due to a hack or other cyber incident.
In more positive news for the Gunners, Jurrien Timber is set to be included in their squad for the match.
The Dutch defender last featured off the bench in the Champions League final against PSG in May.
However, that was his first appearance in more than two months and he subsequently missed the World Cup through injury.
Speaking ahead of their Premier League tie against Chelsea on Sunday, Arteta had provided a positive update on Timber and hinted that a return was not too far away.
'Jurrien is in really good condition at the moment, he’s been a few weeks on the pitch and has been training with us, so he’s in a really good place,' Arteta said.
'We will decide [on his involvement on Sunday] after training [on Saturday].'
Arsenal defender Jurrien Timber is set to be in their squad following a lengthy injury lay-off
Napoli have three points from three league games so far this season and their squad includes former Premier League stars such as Kevin De Bruyne, Rasmus Hojlund and Billy Gilmour.
Former Man United man Scott McTominay will miss out though, after recently undergoing corrective heart surgery.
In a statement released earlier this month, Napoli had said: 'Following the onset of a mild benign arrhythmia, Scott McTominay will undergo corrective surgery using a cardiac arrhythmia ablation (PFA) in the coming days.
'He will be available again after the international break.'
Arteta urges Gunners to build on perfect start
By Isaan Khan in Naples
Mikel Arteta has called on his Arsenal side to use their marauding start to the season as fuel to set an opening Champions League marker in Napoli’s intimidating backyard.
The north London club had their flight delayed after widespread technical issues caused hundreds of trips to be cancelled across the country.
As of Tuesday night, the Champions League runners-up were rescheduled to arrive into Napoli at 9:30pm local time. Sources said that Arsenal had not been unduly affected with the staff and players waiting for a new flight time at their London Colney base, which is less than 20 miles from London Luton Airport.
On Arsenal’s dominant away form in the Champions League, which saw the club undefeated across seven matches before the final last season, Arteta said: ‘The consistency and the performances that we put in, the fact that we have been really dominant even when we play at home. With our identity, with what we want to achieve in games, I'm convinced that we can do it (win tonight).’
Arteta is also relishing an intimidating atmosphere at the famed Stadio Diego Armando Maradona.
‘A really tough place,’ he added.
‘I've been in that stadium before, I know the atmosphere they create. The record at home is really, really strong. A very experienced manager.
‘We know the challenge ahead. We are prepared and we're ready to go.
‘The energy and the confidence around the team is high. That's what we have to show tomorrow on that pitch. Let's go.’
Meanwhile, Riccardo Calafiori said ‘the best trip of my life’ to south America last summer has helped rejuvenate him towards his excellent form of late.
The full back has had a strong start to the season, which has seen him register two assists and hailed by Jamie Carragher as the ‘best left back in the Premier League’.
With Italy having not qualified for the World Cup, Calafiori used the opportunity to go travelling.
He said: ‘I obviously had the chance to go almost everywhere. It was a dream to go to South America. I used this big window because we didn't qualify for the World Cup to go there. It was the best trip of my life, I’ve been to Brazil and Argentina.
‘I think you could see from my start of the season. I feel really fresh and I had a big chance this season to help the team, as I mentioned before. I hope to keep on going like that.’
