More than 700,000 passengers were affected by an air traffic control meltdown last August bank holiday Monday, an initial report has found.
The interim report published by the Civil Aviation Authority found that 300,000 people were impacted by cancellations, 95,000 by long delays of over three hours, and a further 300,000 by shorter delays.
Provider National Air Traffic Services (Nats) has indicated that it has acted to address a number of findings arising from its own internal investigation into the flight planning system failure.
The aviation regulator’s independent review panel into the ATC failure on August 28 was set up following the incident.
The panel has made good progress, particularly in respect of understanding the cause of the failure.
But other factors require further evidence and investigation, including communications around the incident, the incentive regime for investment and the response by the aviation system, according to the CAA.
“These, along with the recommendations will be addressed in the independent panel’s final report, which is expected to be published later this year,” the regulator added.
Review panel chair Jeff Halliwell said: “This interim report sets out the panel’s work so far in understanding the root causes of the incident; the effectiveness of communications between Nata, other parts of the aviation sector, and the consumers; and the underpinning regulatory regime.
“In developing the interim report, the panel has engaged with a wide range of stakeholders to ensure the final report reflects a diverse range of perspectives.
“In order to produce effective recommendations, the panel has further lines of enquiry it is exploring in order to build a better understanding of how the aviation system can improve.”
CAA chief executive Rob Bishton added: “The UK air traffic control system is vital to the safe and efficient management of millions of air journeys each year.
“This interim report helps with the understanding of what went wrong, what worked well in response to this, and importantly what action can be taken to improve the UK’s aviation system for the future.
“I’d like to thank the panel for its continued work on this subject and we look forward to publishing the final report later this year. “