Military aircraft reportedly blamed for UK air traffic control outage
Summary
A UK air traffic control system shut down for four hours, causing over 2,000 flight cancellations due to a military aircraft entering incorrect flight data. The shutdown disrupted thousands of passengers and led to an official investigation and calls for leadership changes at the agency running the system.Key Facts
- Over 2,000 flights were canceled on a Tuesday due to an air traffic control outage in the UK.
- The outage lasted about four hours and affected hundreds of thousands of passengers.
- A UK military aircraft submitted incorrect flight data, which caused the system to fail.
- The National Air Traffic Services (Nats) system did not have a dedicated backup during a system overhaul.
- Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander demanded a report within a week and ordered an independent review by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).
- Nats had faced a similar major outage in August 2023, after which 34 improvement suggestions were made and reportedly applied.
- The Ministry of Defence said there was no evidence of error by the military and is cooperating with the ongoing investigation.
- Some airline leaders called for the resignation of Nats’ chief executive, Martin Rolfe, criticizing the handling of the crisis.
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