Flights resume normal operations in the UK, after technical problems reduced air traffic flow
In a statement published this afternoon (29), Martin Rolfe, CEO of the British National Air Traffic Service (NATS), apologized and said that the technical failure that occurred yesterday in the flight management system was quickly identified and resolved.
The UK's air traffic control system has returned to normal, and flights have resumed from major UK airports and routes crossing UK airspace.
Rolf highlights that “UK airspace was not closed at any point, but the number of flights has been significantly reduced,” he added.
According to NATS, the failure affected the ability to automatically process flight plans requested by airlines, with data being entered manually.
Initial investigations showed that the malfunction was related to some flight data containing incorrect information, which was suspended by both the primary and backup systems, to ensure safe operations. There are no indications that it was a cyber attack.
NATS is responsible for managing two million flights a year at some of the world's busiest airports and airspace, such as London Heathrow, one of the world's top ten airports by passenger numbers and international capacity.
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