UK CAA sets terms for review of NATS air traffic system failure

The UK Civil Aviation Administration has set out the terms of reference for its independent review into a technical failure at National Air Traffic Services that disrupted more than 2,000 flights. The CAA announced the scope of the review on September 25, covering the incident of September 8.

A preliminary report NATS published on September 18 said the disruption was caused by a software defect in a small part of the National Airspace System, which supports the management of UK airspace. Martin Rolfe, chief executive of NATS, said the problem lay in a specific part of the flight data system and had been traced to a small subsection of coding. It had been identified and mitigation put in place, he said, while a permanent fix undergoes safety testing before deployment.

The review will examine NATS' report on what caused the disruption, look at how consumers were affected, and identify any further action needed to strengthen confidence in the resilience of the UK's air traffic management system. It will also assess NATS leadership.

The CAA will consider NATS' strategy and plans for renewing, replacing and modernising critical operational systems, including possible improvements to business continuity arrangements for existing systems and how well placed NATS is to deliver that modernisation. It will also look at how well recommendations from earlier reviews have been implemented, the effectiveness of the CAA's own regulatory oversight, and lessons from international practice on resilience and recovery from major disruption. The CAA published an 11-page document setting out the terms.