What a Week

Qantas A380 FR24

ATC outage, bizjet lands at wrong airport….

UK ATC - problems at NATS on 8 September caused chaos at the major UK airports. LHR the worst affected. Around 1500 hours, the airport declared full with no gates available for arriving aircraft. Passengers who had already spent 10+ hours on long-haul flights, then endured more than 2 hours on the ground before they could disembark.

Being the largest airline at LHR, BA was severely affected. It wasn’t just their long-haul services, European flights also delayed/cancelled, with crews stranded when they were expecting to be home the same day. The airline’s scheduling staff were among those who worked through the night to ensure crew and aircraft were repositioned, then provide passengers with rearranged flights.

So, what caused the problem? According to the Financial Times and various Twitter/X sources, a military aircraft entered “spurious” flight data into the UK’s air traffic control system. The flight plan triggered a series of events that led to the shutdown. This caused a meltdown within the wider ATC system that took hours and several attempts to restart. The MOD has strenuously denied it was their fault. Media observers compared this event to the 2023 one, believed to have been the same error. There was also a smaller problem in 2025. NATS is conducting a full technical investigation, with reports suggesting a deadline of one week. The UK Transport Secretary has ordered an independent probe through the CAA, which is expected to report back within 6 months. It’s reported that the UK’s core flight processor is facing a “critical software support cliff-edge” by 2030.

As most UK airports were also affected, there was limited scope for diversions. LGW also severely limited to how many diversions it could take. Emirates diverted to AMS and FRA, although EK31 headed to BHX. Oman Air later joined it there. BA favoured MAN. Observers tried to suggest the problem was a cyber-attack. This was based on the BA LHR-PVG flight turning round over Romania. However, it proved to be a genuine return, for a cracked windscreen. Finding no space at LHR, the flight diverted to CWL. A wise decision given that the airline has a large maintenance facility there. One social media contributor even suggested a very good Chinese restaurant in the city, to give passengers a taste of their destination…

In other news –

RAF Fairford – a Cessna Citation XLS+, D-CJMK, belonging to VistaJet Germany recently landed at the base by mistake. On the short flight from LCY, it should have landed at Kemble. Realising their error, the crew asked if they could have clearance to depart immediately. As expected, this was denied. After discussions and much form filling, they were allowed to leave after almost 3 hours. Apparently, it’s not the first time it’s happened…

Wizz – the low-cost carrier recently announced its return to ABU, DXB, JED and AMM. All flights commence 25 October.

Qantas – the Australian carrier has announced, again, retirement plans for its A380 fleet. The original withdrawal, planned for 2032, has now been brought forward to 2028. The major reason increased fuel costs exacerbated by the Middle East conflict. Operating 17-year-old aircraft with an expensive supply chain also cited. Starting March 2028, their final flight will be mid-year. Certainty around delivery schedules has also contributed to this decision. The airline currently has 36 firm orders for wide-body aircraft. 12 A350-1000ULR, 12 “standard” A350, 4 B787-9 and 8 B787-10. There are also talks taking place on options for 20 wide-body aircraft, split between Airbus and Boeing. Based at SYD, the fleet has served LHR, JNB, SIN, LAX and DFW. Qantas holds traffic rights for all sectors on SYD-SIN-LHR.

And finally –

Planecaster SkyWatch – following in the footsteps of Stowaway, a UK based enthusiast has developed a similar live stream. It’s also based on what you can see out of a chosen aircraft window. At the moment, coverage only seems to be for South Wales and South West England. There’s also data available for chosen flights. On YouTube, may be worth taking a look…

Stowaway – an Air Canada Captain recently took to social media, commenting positively on this new flight tracker. He echoed my comments about working through the various functions, but his initial view is positive. Not sure I mentioned this last week, but there are sound effects for your flight. They recognise the type of aircraft. Whether a jet, prop or helicopter it adds authenticity.

Airplane Video Guy – a relatively new YouTube live stream, operates mostly at LHR. His coverage of the recent ATC problem from the Renaissance Hotel carpark was excellent. No shouting or drama here…

Friday marked the 25^th anniversary of 9/11. It was very poignant to hear the many stories from that day. I’m sure we remember exactly what we were doing when the news broke. As many have said, we must never forget….

Information courtesy of Various non-aviation media outlets, Craig Young Media on Twitter/X, Khaleej Times, FR24, Planecaster, Stowaway, Airplane Video Guy

Images courtesy of The Guardian, Qantas