Report calls for contingency improvements at NATS

LONDON - "Major failure on part of the air traffic control system": Investigators published a final report on the 28 August 2023 air traffic meltdown that caused chaos across UK air traffic. The report meets air navigation service provider NATS and other parties with a total of 34 recommendations.

28 August 2023 marks a black swan event: A failure of the NERL flight planning system and poor contingency plans halted most flights impacting 700,000 passengers "including 300,000 people by cancellations, 95,000 by delays of over three hours, and a further 300,000 by shorter delays," according to regulator CAA.

The final report on the event released by an Independend Review Panel puts most of the blame on NATS.

"The incident on 28 August 2023 represented a major failure on the part of the air traffic control system, which caused considerable distress to over 700,000 aviation passengers, and resulted in substantial costs to airlines and airports", Panel Chair Jeff Halliwell said.

Based on information provided by the airlines most affected by the incident, the Panel estimated that the costs to airlines were approximately 65 millionen GBP. "In addition, substantial costs were incurred by passengers, airports, tour operators, insurers, and others," the report says. While the Panel was "unable to accurately quantify these costs", it is "likely" that the total cost was "in the region of 75 millionen to 100 million GBP".

"Our report sets out a number of recommendations aimed at improving NATS` operations and, even more importantly, ways in which the aviation sector as a whole should work together more closely to ensure that, if something like this does ever happen again, passengers are better looked after", Halliwell said.

"Earlier notifications"

Within 34 recommendations, NATS needs to "review its contingency and engineering resource management arrangements" and put processes in place to provide "earlier notification to airlines and airports of possible disruption".

Airlines and airports also need to review "the adequacy of the support available to passengers during significant disruption, in particular to vulnerable passengers and those travelling with children, and to develop a standardised suite of passenger information during major incidents".