A software defect caused the NATS system failure that grounded more than 2,000 flights earlier this month, an initial report says.
The issue happened ‘in the space of a millisecond’, leading to the system producing corrupted data. This meant air traffic controllers had reduced information available and had to put restrictions in place to limit air traffic to maintain safety, the BBC reports.
It adds the defect occurred at 10am on 8 September, but staff didn’t realise there was a serious problem for more than two hours.
The system was restarted just after 3:15pm, and restrictions on UK airspace were not lifted until 7:30pm.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander said: “I have now received NATS report and, while I am pleased to see that the safety of passengers was protected, it’s clear we need to urgently understand why this issue was not discovered and fixed before it caused chaos.
“I have therefore tasked the CAA with conducting an independent review to check NATS findings and investigate their investment plans to enhance resilience in the future, along with regulatory accountability.”
Jet2.com said it will be seeking compensation from NATS.
CEO Steve Heapy said: “Once again, airlines and customers were left severely disrupted by yet another NATS system failure and one has to ask how many times this is going to be allowed to happen?
“This latest report says that recommendations have been made following previous failures, but it is crystal clear that this critical piece of national infrastructure lacks the necessary resilience. It is time to address this as a matter of absolute urgency, because hardworking customers and families should not have to experience such disruption.
“Our teams worked tirelessly to look after customers and recover operations but, like other airlines, we incurred significant costs because of this latest failure. It is not fair that airlines should be left to pick up the tab on the back of these recurring failures, so we will be seeking compensation from NATS.”
Airlines UK CEO Tim Alderslade said: “Once again, it is passengers who have suffered and airlines who have picked up the pieces – and the tab – of an ATC system failure, while NATS itself faces no real consequences.”
He added that passengers deserved ‘commitment and proof that the system is being fixed’.
Advantage Travel Partnership CEO Julia Lo Bue-Said said: “Today’s NATS report confirms that a software defect in its flight-processing system triggered last week’s air traffic control outage.
“While we are grateful that safety was never compromised, the scale and duration of the disruption had a devastating impact on hundreds of thousands of passengers, airlines, airports and the wider travel industry. Holidays were disrupted, important business meetings were missed, and people lost precious time with family and friends.
“The failure will carry a significant economic cost, and it is simply unacceptable for passengers and the industry to be left to pick up the bill.
“The findings from this failure must now translate into meaningful improvements, and we need NATS, alongside Government and the CAA to ensure that the lessons from this incident translate into meaningful improvements in resilience and contingency planning.”
