A bug in the flight planning system managed by Lockheed Martin caused planes to be grounded in London.
The BBC reports that a software glitch at the UK’s National Air Traffic Control Services (NATS) control centre at Swanwick has caused widespread delays and flight cancellations. The glitch, a BBC source said, involved a “flight planning tool” in NATS – software that monitors and coordinates flights entering London’s control area and manages landings and take-offs at airports in the region. The software is part of a system managed under contract by Lockheed Martin.
Flights at Heathrow and Gatwick were temporarily grounded while the software bug was fixed. The shutdowns caused a ripple effect across all other airports in the UK, with many flights delayed or cancelled due to the problem. Inbound flights from abroad were also disrupted at some airports, which had to be delayed due to the issues.
The NATS Centre at Swanwick controls all air traffic over England and Wales. The centre, which opened in 2002, has experienced software problems in the past, including delays in the initial delivery of the software.
There were also problems with computer systems in 2008, and with internal communication systems in 2013 - a delay in voice transmission systems caused communication problems which led to controllers being distracted.
