A system failure in the UK's air traffic control earlier this month was caused by a "software defect", the National Air Traffic Services (Nats) has announced. This failure led to the cancellation of over 2,000 flights and affected hundreds of thousands of passengers.
The defect occurred in the system that "underpins the management of UK airspace", according to Nats' initial report. The problem happened "in the space of a millisecond", resulting in the system producing corrupted data.
Air traffic controllers had reduced information available, which prompted restrictions on air traffic to maintain safety. Flights at major UK airports, including Heathrow, Gatwick, Luton, and Glasgow, were impacted.