Following the recent shutdown of Air Traffic Control (ATC) over the bank holiday weekend, aviation sector chiefs and government authorities are still dealing with the fallout of such a large crash in the system.
According to reports, transport secretary, Mark Harper, is set to meet up with aviation bosses over the ATC disaster today, Friday the 1st of September. Both parties are still in the throes of dealing with the impact that the ATC failures had on such a big travelling weekend and what can be done to prevent further fallout.
Posting on X (Twitter) on Thursday the 31st of August, Mark Harper stated, “Tomorrow [Friday] I will meet the industry again, bringing together NATS, the CAA, Border Force, airlines, airports, and trade groups to discuss the latest situation ahead of the start of the new school year in England, Wales and Northern Ireland.”
In a further comment on the situation, the transport secretary said that he was “closely monitoring the situation” surrounding the ATC shutdown. “Airlines have worked incredibly hard to fly passengers back, and I remain in contact with the industry to ensure we’re doing everything possible to get passengers home as quickly as possible.”
Mark Harper also acknowledged the many travellers that are still stranded abroad waiting for a return flight home and with many flights already full.
The incident has caused a lot of travellers to be stranded temporarily following the bank holiday that marks the end of student summer holidays, leaving many families abroad longer than expected. The aviation sector is working hard to get all travellers where they need to be as quickly as possible, following the ATC failure.
According to data retrieved by the National Air Traffic Services (NATS), an initial investigation has determined that incoming flight data had led to the initial meltdown of ATC, causing panic across the industry. Further investigations are still proceeding, and a preliminary report should be released at the beginning of next week.
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