Britain’s air traffic control systems experienced a significant network failure today, causing confusion, chaos, and extensive delays for thousands of holidaymakers. While UK airspace has not been closed, traffic restrictions have been implemented for safety purposes. Engineers are currently working to resolve the issue, but many flights have been delayed, some for at least 12 hours, with potential lingering effects for days. The cause of the technical problem remains unknown, although speculation around a possible cyber attack has emerged. This incident follows a similar computer system failure in the United States that prompted concerns about hacking. Flight operations have been heavily impacted, with the majority of departures from Heathrow, Gatwick, Manchester, and Bristol experiencing delays. The Federal Aviation Administration has since revealed that a corrupted database file was responsible for the outage. Travel journalist Simon Calder dismissed the notion of a hack, emphasizing the rarity of such incidents in aviation. He compared the disruption to the IT failures experienced by British Airways. The network failure has hindered air traffic controllers’ ability to process flight plans automatically, resulting in manual input and limited processing capacity. Given that today is one of the busiest travel days of the year, the impact of this huge network failure is particularly disruptive. The duration of the delays and the resolution timeline remain unknown. As of now, 8% of departing flights and 9% of arriving flights at UK airports have been canceled. A high percentage of flights are currently delayed across various airports, with Heathrow being the most affected. Passengers have been advised to check with their airlines for the latest information. British Airways has already informed its customers about potential delays and is actively working with NATS to address the technical issue. TV presenter Gabby Logan shared her experience of being stranded on the runway at Budapest Airport due to the UK airspace shutdown. Former air traffic controller Michele Robson explained that the flight planning system failure impacted both UK centers, resulting in slower manual processing and limited aircraft handling capacity. Despite the shutdown, safety issues are not a concern, as the system is designed to handle such situations and aircraft are equipped with contingency fuel. However, the disruption caused by this incident on one of the busiest travel days of the year is unwelcome. In light of the disruption caused by the network failure, passengers may wonder about their rights and whether they can claim compensation. The eligibility for compensation depends on factors such as the departure or arrival location, the airline, and the duration of the delay. Passengers are entitled to support from the airline, including provisions for food, drinks, communication, and accommodation, depending on the circumstances of the delay.
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