{"id":8122,"date":"2023-08-30T08:25:49","date_gmt":"2023-08-30T08:25:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/aviation-news.info\/?p=8122"},"modified":"2023-08-30T08:25:49","modified_gmt":"2023-08-30T08:25:49","slug":"cancelled-flights-air-traffic-disruption-caused-by-flight-data-issue","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aviation-news.info\/?p=8122","title":{"rendered":"Cancelled flights: Air traffic disruption caused by flight data issue"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Aviation news international – Widespread flight disruption that left thousands of passengers stranded was caused by incoming flight data, air traffic control bosses say.<\/b><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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National Air Traffic Services said a flight plan that its systems could not process was behind Monday’s technical problem.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The fault saw passengers stranded abroad and in the UK, having to find alternative routes home.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Passengers have been warned to expect continued knock-on disruption.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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One passenger told BBC News she and her young children slept on the floor of an airport after their flight was axed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Nats confirmed there were no signs the failure was caused by a cyber-attack. The incident will be investigated by the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Nats chief executive Martin Rolfe said: “Initial investigations into the problem show it relates to some of the flight data we received.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“Our systems, both primary and the back-ups, responded by suspending automatic processing to ensure that no incorrect safety-related information could be presented to an air traffic controller or impact the rest of the air traffic system.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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He later described the issue as “incredibly rare”, saying he was confident the situation would not arise again.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“We understand the way the system didn’t handle the data\u2026 the way it failed, if you like.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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“So we have put in place, already, procedures to make sure if that happens again, we can resolve it very, very quickly.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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Asked about reports that a flight plan submitted by a French airline could be behind the problem, Mr Rolfe said he “wouldn’t want to speculate at this point”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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He said Nats was working with the CCA to provide a preliminary report to the transport secretary on Monday – and that the report’s conclusion would be made public.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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The Department of Transport said it had approved night flying to all UK airports it regulates to alleviate the backlog in UK flights.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

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