A SINGLE military aircraft entering “spurious” flight data sparked the air traffic control meltdown which grounded thousands of planes.
The UK military jet submitted a flight plan which caused several hours of chaos for the National Air Traffic Services (Nats) on Tuesday, it is understood.
4
4
British skies were shutdown for four hours and it took several attempts for the systems, which manage 8,000 flights a day, to restart.
Kathryn Leahy, Nats operations director, told industry bosses about the source of the disorder during a briefing on Tuesday evening, an insider said.
More than 2,000 flights had been cancelled within three days as airports across the UK were thrown into turmoil.
Experts have warned the disruption could drag on for weeks after a major failure at the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) Swanwick control centre.
4
4
Roughly 300,000 passengers have been affected following the initial meltdown on Tuesday and experts have warned the disruption could drag on for weeks.
Some 51 services have been axed already today, with Heathrow alone suffering 28 cancellations.
Seven departing flights and 21 arrivals have been cancelled at Europe’s biggest airport – much to the agony of devastated holidaymakers.
The disruption has also hit Gatwick, which faces 11 grounded flights, and Glasgow, with five services impacted.
Most read in The Sun
TOT TRAGEDY
Baby, 1, found dead inside home as two arrested on suspicion of child neglect
PORN CRACKDOWN
‘Trash’ Russian TV star, 22, learns fate after parading naked through Moscow
CAMPAIGN OF ABUSE
Paedo, 62, who raped multiple children & kept one as ‘sex slave’ jailed
London City, Manchester, Luton and Aberdeen are also among the 15 NATS-controlled airports to face disruption.
Martin Rolfe, 51, the NATS senior executive is now facing pressure to quit following the disruption – marking his third catastrophic failure as chief.
Rolfe was paid £1.5 million, including £871,000 in bonuses, last year, but is now facing questions over his future.
He has been accused of overseeing a “litany of failures” during his time as CEO of the UK’s air traffic control services.
He previously faced turbulence in 2023 when he oversaw his first failure in air traffic control which affected more than 250,000 passengers.
After the incident Nats promised airline bosses that a similar disaster would not happen again.
Speaking to the FT, one airline executive, said: “We were told the [recommendations after 2023] had been fully implemented, but to tell you the truth, we never saw the evidence.”
The bosses were left “flabbergasted” when the cause of the problem was revealed, a source said.
RECOMMENDED STORIES
Nats has insisted the recent chaos was not a repeat of the incident three years ago.