U.K. NATS Systems Failure

[Murty]

Adding to CBSIT excellent run down (no pun intended) of the system,and answering a previous question by someone on the thread.

All airlines/operators do indeed submit flight plans in advance for flights in Europe to IFPS (Integrated Initial Flight Plan Processing System) primarily located at Haren,with back up at Bretigny.

Haren then forward the Flight Plans to each ANSP (Sovereign State) 4 hours before the flight reaches each FIR boundary.
It has to be noted that although most units are heading towards free filing Direct ,this is stil not practical in some of the UK low level . Unfortunately the IFPS system can be "got round" by operators by filing DCT point to point providing it is not too far,but his is usually caught by Swanwick's FPRS system
When a Flight Plan arrives in the FPRS system if everything is correct the flight plan is Automatically Processesed and in a normal day this is approx 87-90% ,leaving the team to manually process the remaining 13% or above ,into the system
.
13% of FPL's is still a large amount in a day and these are a mixture of complex military,airtests,many badly filed GA flights in CAS and badly filed Airlines Flight Plans,and there a still many of them especially companies that get a agency's to file their plans for them one of the worst being in tn recent years (EKBICPUF)- PPS and RocketRoute.
It should be noted that the way flight plans are processed into the UK NAS system uses an old unique input using "dots" between fixes and routes which is why only ones that match whats in the UK SRD (Standard Route Document )
eg a flight from EGGW to EGLF (NOT FAR) Simplified
Filed would be EGGW DCT CPT DCT EGLF
into NAS EGGW..CPT..EGLF
This is the same all over the network TWO dots between 2 Fixes or 2 Airways or ONE dot betwen fixes to airway,airway to fix


It sounds (theory at present) the rogue FPL would be one of the 13%,as our system should reject the bad ones ,so possibly input manually.

That said when the system failed it would hold 4 hours of traffic unless they were late files ,changes ,Cancelations and refiles.

This is when the FPRS team 4 normally with possibly 3 others on shift elsewhere,would be building up to input THE OTHER 87-90% of flight plans,plus all other messages eg DLA (and you can guess the number of these (but by prioritising these may just have to be left) CHG messges etc.

These staff would als need brakes.
The resilience is a fair question in the past Prestwick Centre had their own FPRS suite and the CTC at Whitely had an emergency system in the depths of that building back in 2014.
Fortunately or Unfrotunately it ws decided to have a "One Centre" policy to centralise the planning especially as Scottish went for the more Direct filing that has also now come into the London FIR (West of London) high level.

All this said as CBSITCB stated,all these newer systems are being added to the 1970's framework NAS system that was supposed to be repalced but appears to have a never ending lifespan (UNTIL -dread to think) ,with a New Combined Ops room that lies idle still at Swanwick yearrs over due that Cal Mac ferries would be proud off not.