- No Evidence of Cyberattack in UK Air Traffic Control Disruption
- Thousands of Flights Canceled, Passengers Endure Delays
- Airlines Respond to Disruption with Refunds and Vouchers for Passengers
According to the UK government, the air traffic control issue that caused extensive disruptions to UK air travel was not the result of a cyberattack.
On Monday, more than a quarter of all British flights were canceled due to a problem with National Air Traffic Services.
Tuesday continues with delays and cancellations, as passengers scramble to board flights.
The official PM spokesperson stated that the Civil Aviation Authority will investigate the incident.
“According to the information we have, there was no cyberattack,” they added.
The Civil Aviation Authority will investigate the precise cause of the technical incident before submitting its findings to the government.
When asked about reports that a French data entry error caused the outage, the spokesman declined to comment on “speculation” and added, “I won’t preempt the work that needs to be done.”
They added that they were “not aware of any specific conversations” between French counterparts and government officials.
Earlier, Transport Secretary Mark Harper stated that it would take “a few days to get everyone where they need to be” after thousands of people were stranded due to a technical error.
Mr. Harper said that the last time something of this significance occurred was roughly a decade ago.
He acknowledged that the timing “was not at all helpful for people” but that “those government officials who examine such matters have examined it and determined that it was not a cyber attack.”
Cirium, an aviation analytics company, reported 5% of UK departures and 5% of arrivals cancelled at 9:00 BST Tuesday.
Prime Minister Rishi Sunak stated that Mr. Harper was in “constant dialogue” with all industry stakeholders, including airlines.
Heathrow Airport, the world’s busiest two-runway airport, reported that its schedule remained “significantly disrupted” on Tuesday, while EasyJet reported that some flights are still “unable to operate.”
Holidaymakers described a hellish Bank Holiday Monday, with many spending hours awaiting word on when they could finally depart.
Nats confirmed the issue shortly after noon on Monday and announced its resolution at 15:15 BST.
It said it will “take some time for flights to return to normal” while investigating what happened.
Aviation analyst Sally Gethin expects the technology issue to cause days of disruption with “knock-on effects into later this week.”
Monday saw the cancellation of 790 outbound flights, or approximately 27% of all departures, and 785 incoming flights, or approximately 27% of all arrivals, according to data firm Cirium.
Cirium reported that Heathrow had the highest number of flight cancellations, followed by Gatwick and Manchester.
According to passenger testimony, air traffic control had to manually input routes due to the error.
After their Monday afternoon flight to Antalya was canceled, Katrina Harrison and her family — including her twin grandchildren aged one year — spent the night at Leeds Bradford Airport.
Ms. Harrison, of Stockton-on-Tees, told the PA news agency that they were given a bottle of water, a KitKat, and a bag of crackers and that all the stores ran out of food and drink on Monday evening.
“We weren’t given a blanket, so we’ve been freezing,” she said. “There were no available lodgings, and we were unable to exit the parking garage. We attempted to sleep on the floor but were unsuccessful.”
Due to the cancellation of her departure to Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Serena Hamilton stated at Belfast International Airport that she would likely miss a heart transplant checkup.
“I had a transplant 15 months ago, and these appointments are very important,” she said.
After his Ryanair flight was canceled, cricket journalist Rory Dollard and his family are stranded in Bergerac, France, and have been told it could take up to six days to return home.
Thousands of commuters were struck
Airports and airlines have to apologise to passengers for delays and cancellations and issue full refunds.
Michael O’Leary, the CEO of Ryanair, stated that approximately 250 flights were canceled on Monday, affecting approximately 40,000 passengers. On Tuesday, 70 additional flights were canceled, he said, adding that they hoped to resume “normal operations” with “minimal delays” on Wednesday.
“It is unfortunately beyond our control,” Mr. O’Leary stated. We have been in contact with UK Nationals, but they have not yet explained yesterday’s debacle. Where were their redundant systems? This is unacceptable.”
BA cited “significant and unavoidable delays and cancellations” and expressed regret for the inconvenience. Before proceeding to the airport, it advised passengers on short-haul services to confirm that their flight was still operating.
Short-haul flights on Tuesday or Wednesday may be rescheduled for free.
Tui announced a refund and a “£100 per person voucher for a future vacation.” late Monday night.
The CAA states that airlines have a responsibility to provide food, drink, and lodging during overnight delays.
Upon cancellation of a flight, passengers should be offered a refund or alternative travel arrangements as soon as possible.
Nats stated that a “flight planning issue” had compromised the system’s capacity to autonomously process flight plans.
This prevented flight plans from being processed at the same rate, “hence the requirement for traffic flow restrictions” for safety.
Juliet Kennedy, director of operations, apologized for the disruption.
