Birmingham airport has reopened after it suspended services due to an air traffic control fault that saw flights delayed, diverted and cancelled for more than two hours.

The problem was the result of a failure of the electronic flight plan system that began to affect flights from around 6pm. Operations at the airport resumed after 8pm.

A spokesperson said: “Following the earlier air traffic control technical fault, Birmingham airport has now resolved the issue and operations have now resumed. We thank passengers for their patience and apologise for any inconvenience this has caused.”

International flights were held and diverted to other airports, while a number of domestic flights were cancelled. The airport had advised passengers to check with their airline regarding departures and arrivals.

A spokesman said earlier: “We are working to resolve the issue as soon as possible. Passengers are advised to check with their airline regarding flight departures and arrivals. We apologise for the inconvenience this is causing to our passengers.” He added that IT technicians were working on the problem and hoped it was “not too serious”.

Passengers took to Birmingham airport’s social media accounts to tell of long delays and chaotic scenes. One couple who boarded a plane at 4.30pm on Sunday said they were still sitting on the runway after 7pm, having been told that engineers were working to fix the fault.

“A cancelled flight yesterday and now no chance of getting on our alternative option as Birmingham airport is closed due to technical difficulties. Merry Christmas,” tweeted another passenger. “The cancelled flight yesterday with no help on the ground was bad enough – this truly is the icing on the cake. We’ve had to rebook our own trains to get here from London, and now we’re stranded? Really disappointing – especially at this time of year.”

Travellers across Europe whose flights to Birmingham were grounded also expressed their frustration on social media. “Plane about to take off in Düsseldorf, pilot then parks the plane and declares Birmingham airport closed,” one user said.

It follows the major disruption at Gatwick airport this week after a drone was apparently spotted around the runway, forcing bosses to ground flights over three days. Thousands of people were stranded and forced to rethink their Christmas plans.

Birmingham is the UK’s seventh busiest airport, serving about 12 million passengers a year.