Air Traffic System Failure Was Caused by One in 15 Million Chance Error

The National Air Traffic Services reveals why thousands of UK passengers were left stranded as 1,500 flights were cancelled and 575 delayed.

Passengers wait at Stansted Airport, north of London, after UK flights were delayed over a technical issue, on Aug. 29, 2023. Daniel Leal/AFP via Getty Images

An air travel chaos that hit Britain last week was caused by an issue with a flight plan processing system, the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) has reported.

Thousands of passengers were stranded on Aug. 28, as their flights to and from the UK were cancelled owing to the “network-wide failure.”