Air-Traffic Control outage causes chaos for UK travelers; here's the latest
technical glitch led to a system outage, resulting in extensive flight delays and cancellations on a busy travel day. The National Air Traffic Services (NATS) swiftly responded to the situation and worked to restore normal operations after identifying and rectifying the issue that had affected the automated flight planning system. While the glitch disrupted the automatic processing of flight plans, manual input was necessary, causing a bottleneck in managing flight volumes. This disruption impacted major airports, including Heathrow and Gatwick, during a period of increased travel due to a national holiday and the end of the summer vacation season.
Technical Hurdles Amidst Busy Travel Period
The outage, which coincided with one of the busiest extended weekends, presented challenges for both travellers and airlines. With numerous flights scheduled to depart and arrive, the glitch affected around 3,049 flights according to Cirium, an aviation analytics firm. The incident drew parallels to a US system failure in January, which had led to a temporary suspension of departures and thousands of delays. In the UK, Eurocontrol, the air traffic regulation authority for the region, cited significant individual delays due to regulated aircraft movements at reduced rates.
