UK air traffic control outage caused by software defect

A major disruption to British air traffic control on September 8 was caused by a software defect within the flight data system, according to a preliminary report from the National Air Traffic Services (NATS). The error, described as an obscure issue occurring in a millisecond, led to corrupted data and necessitated significant traffic restrictions to maintain safety. The incident resulted in over 2,000 flight cancellations and affected hundreds of thousands of passengers across major hubs including Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, and Glasgow.

NATS CEO Martin Rolfe confirmed that the defect was unrelated to a separate technical failure that occurred in 2023 and denied reports suggesting military interference. While Rolfe apologized to the public and stated that safety was never compromised, he has faced calls for his resignation from airline industry groups. Mitigation measures are currently in place, and a permanent fix is undergoing safety testing.

British Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander labeled the disruption as completely unacceptable. Consequently, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) has launched a formal review to determine why the defect was not detected and resolved prior to the incident, with officials evaluating the incident's broader impact on aviation reliability.