UK ATC failure Monday 28 August 2023

[Tetchytyke]

I can see that fuelling hours are limited and imagine that arriving off schedule will require tankering even today

I think some of them do tanker, especially the late Gatwick flight which always has a tight turnaround at Ronaldsway. But EasyJet do fuel here, I’ve been sat on planes post-pandemic whilst they do it.

Ronaldsway, like most airports, is rather short of ground crew at the minute, which also has an impact.

 

[dangie]

On the BBC website it states that if your flight is cancelled, stranded passengers have a right to an alternative flight. Just where is this ‘alternative’ flight coming from?

 

[azOOOOOma]

The booked airline or airlines with whom they have an irregular ops agreement with. But those flights will be full as it’s that time of the year anyway and those airlines will be dealing with their own passengers.

All the ACMI / charters are all busy flying the summer schedules on behalf of Jet2, BA Euroflyer and TUI so it’s not going to be easy to simply hire in capacity. The only people with capacity right now are the Russians and for obvious reasons that isn’t an option.

I see passengers having to wait several days or make multiple stops on separate flights to get home. Especially those who are seat only as I imagine priority is given to package customers.

I really feel for them. I see LNER are offering free travel. Classy move.

To be honest depending on where I was I’d be looking at land travel to a ferry port. For me Amsterdam, then the boat home. This literally couldn’t have happened at a worse time.

 

[jfollows]

The current system is relatively reliable. The previous system, based at West Drayton, used to fail so often it was barely newsworthy.

An IBM 9020, bespoke configuration of 6xIBM S/360 processors, as used also in the USA, was installed in West Drayton in 1974, and given that IBM stopped selling the S/360 in 1977 it was pretty much outdated when installed. The processors were replaced with a more modern S/370 IBM 4381 in 1989 but parts of the S/360 installation remained until 1997 when they were finally upgraded and replaced. Swanwick opened in 2002 and was based - to my limited knowledge - around IBM RS/6000 running AIX.
I worked for IBM from 1984 but never had anything to do with West Drayton - it was unique in the country and almost in the world anyway. It presumably got some kind of love and attention to keep it going but was pretty much past its sell-by date when it was finally replaced. All my mainframe experience was with S/370.

 

[Mojo]

On the BBC website it states that if your flight is cancelled, stranded passengers have a right to an alternative flight. Just where is this ‘alternative’ flight coming from?

There may be empty seats on other planes, including re-routeing options with connections via different routes. Airlines may also be opening up extra seats, for example BA are operating Club Europe flights today with the middle seat occupied today which will create a handful of extra seats.

 

[MasterSpenny]

Getting somewhere, but its still bad in terms of delays/cancellations

https://twitter.com/HeathrowAirport/status/1696196335295250460?s=20

The technical issue which limited UK air traffic today has been fixed by NATS. Schedules still remain significantly disrupted. Please only travel to the airport if your flight is confirmed to be operating. We are working hard to minimise the impacts and assist those affected.

 

[island]

On the BBC website it states that if your flight is cancelled, stranded passengers have a right to an alternative flight. Just where is this ‘alternative’ flight coming from?

Rights in theory and in practice will often diverge.

 

[BananaRepublic]

An IBM 9020, bespoke configuration of 6xIBM S/360 processors, as used also in the USA, installed in 1974, and given that IBM stopped selling the S/360 in 1977 it was pretty much outdated when installed. The processors were replaced with a more modern S/370 IBM 4381 in 1989 but parts of the S/360 installation remained until 1997 when they were finally upgraded and replaced…..

9020 was installed in 1974/75 and went operational in late 1975.
Initially all it did was process and disseminate flight plan data.
The system that ran on it, NAS (National airspace system) was heavily evolved over the years and was re- hosted off 9020, onto a new system in the mid 1990’s.
NAS did it’s job remarkably well, considering how long it was in live service.
That era ended with the move to Swanwick and much more sophisticated tech environment, in 2002.

Swanwick opened in 2002 and was based - to my limited knowledge - around IBM RS/6000 running AIX.…..

Swanwick comprises of quite a number of separate systems, all working as part of the whole.
A larger, up to date and much enhanced iteration of NAS was modified to run off the new platform, until its advanced replacement could be developed.
I can’t remember the exact number, but at opening, there were a large number of systems working in close synchronisation, of which NAS was one.

Flight data processing is a core function, but only to feed the other systems, which are very advanced, with levels of redundancy and fall-back provision that most people in IT would never have experienced.
The latest NATS FDP system is ITEC, which has been in development for more than 15 years and will be deployed across a large proportion of European airspace.

If yesterday’s rare failure was purely related to FDP, then the air traffic system would simply fall-back into a degraded level of operation, which would limit capacity, but nether the less continue to operate safely.
Controllers regularly train for such eventualities, just like airline pilots routinely carry out simulator training for aircraft emergencies.

.

 

[Tetchytyke]

On the BBC website it states that if your flight is cancelled, stranded passengers have a right to an alternative flight. Just where is this ‘alternative’ flight coming from?

You have the right to rebooking at the earliest opportunity and it doesn’t have to be the same airline. This is important where your airline might only fly weekly to your destination but another airline flies daily.

If the airline can’t do it, you are within your rights to book a cash fare with another airline and send your airline the bill.

It also doesn’t have to be an airline. So if you can get a seat on, say, the Harwich-Hoek ferry then that also counts.

I’ve claimed the cost of my Steam Packet ticket back from EasyJet and I fully expect them to reimburse me.

 

[dangie]

On the BBC website it states that if your flight is cancelled, stranded passengers have a right to an alternative flight. Just where is this ‘alternative’ flight coming from?

There may be empty seats on other planes….

You have the right to rebooking at the earliest opportunity and it doesn’t have to be the same airline...

My point was if your flight is cancelled, there’s a good chance other flights to/from the same airport will be as well. You can’t book onto a non-existent flight.

 

[Darandio]

My point was if your flight is cancelled, there’s a good chance other flights to/from the same airport will be as well. You can’t book onto a non-existent flight.

Alternative flight doesn't necessarily mean on the same day.

 

[Tetchytyke]

You can’t book onto a non-existent flight.

Alternative doesn’t necessarily mean the same day. As I said, it means you don’t have to wait for the next flight of the airline you booked with. Given the low-cost carriers often don’t have a daily rotation to a destination, that’s important.

 

[MasterSpenny]

Heard on tonight’s ITV News at Ten that they are going to keep the runways open overnight to counter the problems

 

[Tetchytyke]

I’ve claimed the cost of my Steam Packet ticket back from EasyJet and I fully expect them to reimburse me.

Update: the refund is already back in my bank account. Can’t say fairer than that.

 

[azOOOOOma]

That was quick. Genuinely surprised. I think after Covid airlines are making refunds a lot more automated.

 

[Cloud Strife]

That was quick. Genuinely surprised. I think after Covid airlines are making refunds a lot more automated.

Easyjet in general are not very problematic when it comes to refunds. I've had several Covid-related refunds from them over the past three years and it really wasn't a problem at all with them, likewise with rescheduled flights where they've refunded me within a couple of days.

It seems that the management of Easyjet correctly understand that providing passengers with hassle-free refunds is a very good way to maintain their loyalty.

 

[Mag_seven]

Ongoing for a couple of hours or so when typing this. NATS has suffered a nationwide failure in its automatic data processing system. Immediate impact is a massive reduction in flow rate to maintain safety leading to many flights being either held on the ground or simply cancelled. Evidently there is no problem in controllers being able to track aircraft but the associated data tags are relying on manual data input.

A look at any flight tracking site will reveal far fewer aircraft than normal in UK airspace especially in the north. Currently there is no estimate for when systems will be fully restored but speculation suggests it could be several days. Just what people wanted on a Bank Holiday and school holidays coming to an end! It would be interesting to know what the contingencies are for this situation especially for Trans-Atlantic traffic.

An interim report has been produced:

Flight chaos made worse by engineer delay, report finds

August bank holiday disruption was made worse by engineers' inability to fix the issue from home, a report says.

www.bbc.co.uk

Air traffic chaos over last year's August bank holiday was made worse by on-call engineers being unable to fix the issue from home, a report has said.

More than 700,000 passengers were affected by an air traffic meltdown that had knock-on effects for days.

Industry group Airlines UK said the report, compiled for the Civil Aviation Authority, showed air traffic control processes were "wholly inadequate".

 

[YorkRailFan]

Ryanair, the UK’s no.1 airline, today (14 Mar) welcomed the CAA’s interim report into NATS’s ATC collapse on 28 Aug last, which disproves false claims made by CEO, Martin Rolfe, in NATS’s “Whitewash” Report published last Sept, including;

NATS claimed just 575 flights were “delayed” (approx. 100,000 pass.), but CAA confirms over 700,000 passengers were disrupted.
NATS CEO, Martin Rolfe, claimed “engineers worked as quickly as they could”, yet CAA confirms NATS engineers were not at work but were “at home due to the bank holiday”.
Under Martin Rolfe’s management, UK NATS has a lack of pre-planning, documentation, and coordination.
Given their mismanagement and incompetence, UK NATS must now reimburse airlines and passengers for the costs they suffered as a result of NATS’s system collapse on 28 Aug last. NATS overpaid CEO (£1.3m p.a.), should now be dismissed and get someone competent to run the UK ATC system for airlines and passengers.

Ryanair’s CEO Michael O’Leary said:

“Today’s CAA report rubbishes many of the false claims made by NATS in their Sept 2023 “Whitewash” report. The CAA confirms that over 700,000 passengers were impacted, and not just 575 flights (approx. 100,000 passengers), which Martin Rolfe originally claimed in front of the UK Parliament Transport Committee.

The CAA report confirms (unbelievably) that NATS engineers were sitting at home in their pyjamas on the UK’s August bank holiday weekend, which is one of the busiest travel weekends of the year for air travel. In any properly managed ATC service, engineers would be onsite to cover system breakdowns instead of sitting at home unable to log into the system. The fact that key NATS engineers were sitting at home during one of the peak travel weekends, combined with findings that NATS has a fundamental lack of pre-planning, documentation, and coordination, clearly demands senior management changes. Overpaid NATS CEO Martin Rolfe’s position in untenable. He should be removed, and somebody competent employed to run UK ATC, to ensure its engineers are at work during busy weekends and to ensure that UK NATS has a management team delivering a functional ATC system with adequate pre-planning, documentation, and coordination.

UK airlines and passengers are paying NATS among the highest ATC fees in Europe. In Ryanair’s case, we pay over £100m p.a. and we are entitled to expect an efficient well-run service, rather than mismanagement and incompetence we suffered on 28 Aug 2023 due to the NATS system collapse. It’s time for Martin Rolfe to go, and if he won’t quit, then Transport Secretary Mark Harper (who owns 49% of NATS) should remove him.”

https://corporate.ryanair.com/news/ryanair-calls-for-management-change-at-uk-nats-atc/?market=en

Can't see Harper sacking Rofle, despite the possibility of Rofle's comments being unsure. I wouldn't be surprised if O'Leary is hoping for NATS to lower overflight charges.
For his part, Harper said:

I'm glad to see steps have already been taken to ensure an incident like this doesn't happen again and I look forward to receiving the final report.

https://twitter.com/Mark_J_Harper/status/1768201683589321093?t=lqpT-XnazI2MEYHD5urIDA&s=19

Warren East appointed Chair of NATS Board - NATS

NATS provides safe and efficient air traffic services and innovative solutions to UK and international airports, airlines and governments.

www.nats.aero

UK air traffic services provider, NATS, announces the appointment of Warren East as non-executive Chair of the Board. He takes up his position on 1 September and succeeds Dr Paul Golby, who has served in the role for the last 10 years.

Note that Rolfe will remain as CEO at NATS.

Mr East said “Aviation is vital to our society and economy, and the essential infrastructure which NATS provides underpins that important function. The next decade or so brings huge challenge alongside multiple possibilities as the sector faces the necessity of the energy transition together with the opportunities presented by advancing technology. I’m delighted to be joining NATS to work with the board and the NATS team as we navigate through this exciting and crucial period.”

I hope East can help prevent last Summer's meltdown but I remain skeptical with the current leadership team.

Chief Executive Officer, Martin Rolfe said: “We very much look forward to working with Warren. His knowledge and insight into the aviation sector, the role of critical UK infrastructure and the experience he has of technology-led transformation will be enormously valuable.”

O'Leary won't be happy that Rolfe is staying on as he previously called for Rolfe to either resign or for Harper to sack him.

Dr Golby said “It has been a privilege to serve as Chair through some of the most difficult times that NATS and the aviation sector as a whole have been through. I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone across the company – it is through their tireless efforts that the UK has one of the very best air traffic services in the world.”

The UK certainly didn't have the best air traffic services in the world last summer!

Mr Rolfe continued: “Paul brought a blend of challenge and stability that the entire company has appreciated enormously. His leadership of the board and strategic guidance has helped us tackle the extraordinary challenges of the pandemic and subsequent rebuilding of the sector. We have a lot to thank him for and wish him well in the future.”

I wish Dr Golby all the best for the future.