The UK air traffic control outage that grounded thousands of flights this week was caused by a military aircraft entering 'spurious' flight data into the system, according to a report cited by the Guardian.
Key facts
- The National Air Traffic Services (Nats) system shut down for four hours on Tuesday.
- More than 2,000 flights were cancelled during the outage.
- Hundreds of thousands of passengers were affected.
- A report attributes the failure to a military aircraft entering 'spurious' flight data.
- The disruption spread across the UK.
The air traffic control outage that grounded thousands of flights across the UK earlier this week was caused by a military aircraft entering “spurious” flight data into the system, according to a report cited by the Guardian.
The system operated by the National Air Traffic Services (Nats) shut down for four hours on Tuesday, disrupting air travel nationwide. During that period, more than 2,000 flights were cancelled.
Hundreds of thousands of passengers were affected by the shutdown, the Guardian reported, as the disruption rippled through UK airports.
According to the report, the failure was triggered by “spurious” flight data being entered into the system by a military aircraft. The precise sequence of events that led the system to shut down has not been detailed in the available information.
Further details on the cause and any remedial steps taken by Nats were not provided in the source material.
Why it matters
A four-hour outage that cancelled more than 2,000 flights affected hundreds of thousands of passengers, who faced delays, cancellations and knock-on disruption across the aviation system.
Frequently asked questions
What caused the UK air traffic control outage?
According to a report cited by the Guardian, the outage was caused by a military aircraft entering 'spurious' flight data into the Nats system.
How many flights were cancelled?
More than 2,000 flights were cancelled on Tuesday during the four-hour shutdown, affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers.
How long did the outage last?
The Nats system shut down for four hours.