The UK Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) is to investigate the technical issue which caused thousands of flights to be delayed and cancelled on the August bank holiday.
A preliminary investigation by air traffic control services provider NATS showed that both the primary system and its backup shut down after receiving highly unusual duplicate “markers” on a flight plan.
This was “an extremely rare set of circumstances”, it said, having not occurred in more than 15 million flight plans processed since the current system began operating five years ago. NATS added that it has updated the software to ensure the incident cannot be repeated.
As a result of the disruption, some passengers had to wait several days for alternative flights.
Announcing its independent review, the CAA said that it will examine the wider issues around the system failure and how NATS responded to the incident.
“The initial report by NATS raises several important questions and as the regulator we want to make sure these are answered for passengers and industry,” said Rob Bishton, joint-interim chief executive at the CAA.
“If there is evidence to suggest NATS may have breached its statutory and licensing obligations we will consider whether any further action is necessary.”
