Air traffic control disruption is being investigated externally

NOS News•today, 4:20 PM

Air Traffic Control the Netherlands (LVNL) is having an external investigation conducted into the national disruption of April 15. Due to this malfunction in the air traffic control system (AAA), a number of flights had to be diverted to Belgium for safety reasons. According to LVNL, it was immediately clear that it was not due to ‘external factors’. According to them, there is no question of a hack.

The outage had a relatively minor impact because it started late in the evening. However, a number of aircraft that were ready for departure from 11 p.m. could no longer take off and a number of landings had to be diverted to Belgium. With the help of a backup system, a few planes were still able to land. The disruption was over around 1:30 am.

The AAA system combines all information about air traffic and shows this on the radar screens of air traffic control. While preparing an update, the system malfunctioned due to an unknown cause.

As a result, the AAA system had to be restarted, which took until 1:30 am. A number of flights could be handled during that restart.

Further investigation by an external party should determine the cause and reduce the chance of recurrence. “A safe and efficient operation is our core task. Passengers and airlines have the right to us conducting careful investigations,” says LVNL director Michiel van Dorst.