At the end of July, an error by software on the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) radar systems at the Swanwick control center in Hampshire, led to the temporary closure of airspace over England and Wales, causing a general suspension of flights for around 20 to 60 minutes. Despite the rapid technical resolution - with NATS activating a secondary system in around 20 minutes - the effects of this blackout continued for hours, with aircraft jams and crews scrambling to resume normal operations.
More than 150 flights were canceled, affecting an estimated half a million passengers. The Secretary of State for Transport, Heidi Alexander, summoned the CEO of NATS, Martin Rolfe, to explain what had happened and to guarantee preventive measures for the future. Ryanair has demanded Rolfe's resignation, claiming that previous failures - including one in August 2023 that affected around 700,000 passengers - have not served as a lesson. Experts and political opponents are calling for an independent government investigation into the resilience of the country's air control infrastructure.
Although the emergency systems ensured that there was no cyber-attack or risk to flight safety, the incident highlighted the latent weaknesses in the central traffic control systems and reinforced the urgency of modernization and more robust contingency plans.
The original article via The Telegraph can be read here.
