Flight chaos for hundreds of thousands was caused in ‘millisecond’ by software error
Error first occurred at 10am but major incident was not declared until 12.30pm, says report Business live – latest updates A software defect in part of the UK’s air traffic control system corrupted flight data “in the space of a millisecond”, leading to a six-hour outage and mass airline cancellations and delays across the UK last week, National Air Traffic Services has said. But ministers said…
A software glitch lasting just a millisecond triggered a major air traffic control failure on September 8, disrupting flights across the UK. The National Air Traffic Service (Nats) revealed the defect corrupted data, leading to the cancellation of over 2,000 flights and affecting hundreds of thousands of passengers. Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander called the disruption "completely unacceptable," while Airlines UK demanded compensation from Nats.
The issue went unnoticed for two and a half hours before a system restart began at 3:15pm, and restrictions on UK airspace were lifted by 7:30pm. The disruption lasted several days due to planes and crew being left out of position. Nats CEO Martin Rolfe apologized to passengers, stating that safety was not compromised during the incident.
The government ruled out a cyber attack and denied any involvement of a military aircraft. Airlines UK CEO Tim Alderslade emphasized the financial burden on airlines and the need for passengers to receive compensation and assurances that the system would be fixed. One affected passenger, Addie Kitson, faced unexpected costs totaling Ksh17,306 after her flight from China was diverted to Stockholm, where she spent 19 hours awaiting her return home.
Written by urgent.news from People Daily Kenya's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
Also reported by 1 other outlet
- Flight delays linked to software problem lasting a millisecond, report says peopledaily.digital
