NATS rules out cyberattack after more than 2,000 flights canceled in Britain
In the United Kingdom, air traffic control service National Air Traffic Services (NATS) said that the technical failure that led to the cancellation of more than 2,000 flights was not the result of a cyberattack. The disruption caused major difficulties for passengers on Tuesday and Wednesday, Anadolu Agency reports.
Investigation into the failure
NATS Chief Executive Martin Rolfe apologized to passengers and said that the company would conduct a thorough investigation into the incident. According to him, the system is already operating normally, but a significant backlog in flight schedules remains after the failure.
Answering a BBC question, Rolfe also said that he does not consider the incident evidence that NATS systems are unfit for operation.
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Canceled flights
According to analytics company Cirium, 1,750 flights were canceled on Tuesday, affecting tens of thousands of passengers. By the middle of Wednesday, at least another 291 flights had been canceled.
As the BBC reported, Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander summoned Rolfe to a meeting for explanations regarding the disruption. She is also expected to tell parliamentarians that a cyberattack was categorically not the cause of the malfunction. Earlier, The Telegraph wrote that equipment had failed at NATS headquarters in Swanwick near Southampton.
