BHX ATC Down
 

BBC reporting BHX air traffic notam indicating airfield closed until at least 2200 today

NOTAM is valid until 2200 but the wording says

So could be shorter - or longer. Electronic Flight Plan system is down according to the Beeb
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-englan...ngham-46668635

Several flights already diverted to EMA, MAN and LHR whilst the LH FRA flight has gone back to FRA..:ooh:

And now re-open at 1940

EK A380 was on its way to MAN is turning back as is a FlyBe Dash 8 which was going to EMA

folk delayed 3 hours sat on the runway! apparently according to one of our daily newspapers! lol

That's progress for you....

Yep, when tech goes sideways it can make one yearn for the "no batteries required" approach of years gone by...

Many ATCOs no longer validated on procedural approaches. Some SOPs forbid night visual approaches

I think you'll find that ALL flight data was lost, so they would neither know what was coming or be able pass data to the relevant ATC centre for departures.

Nobody said there was any sort of radar failure.

What with this and drones that might, or might not, be somewhere...

The UK is getting to the stage where we can't survive in the wild! We are now having to hold risk assessment meetings to see if it's safe to make a risk assessment. We insure our insurance policies. No-one feels confident to make a common sense decision, for fear of breaking a rule that might be there, or not.

One of these days we're going to run a round in such tight circles that we're going to disappear up you know where.

Jonty, I was thinking the same thing , but I already knew the answer: Controllers can't control and pilots can't fly anymore without the aid of modern technology. It's a fact of life, but the cost of maintaining steam powered proficiency for these once in a million glitches is not financially viable.

I think all the inconvenienced passengers might disagree with that.

Until they saw what it would do to the price of their tickets!!! Who do you think would pay for it, Father Christmas!

Air traffic has changed so much since the days of being able to do things procedurally that it would be impossible to do it with the current levels of traffic we have in the UK. Those basic skills aren't trained anymore as there's no point having them

Once in a million glitches.. or twice in a year like in BHX's case...

FFS - what happened to telephone calls from the centre to the airfield and then giving a radar handover? I'll ask Swanwick ATCO son and D-I-L when they arrive in half an hour!!

If the ATCOs have lost flight data, that will likely include their electronic strips, which will include all the aircraft on the airfield that have started and are moving, recovering that situation will mean a complete stop on new movements.
Recovery from that will take time, reversion to hand written strips is only possible if you have the data to hand AND there is provision for it.
Data transfer at large airfields, both in and out is electronic, you cannot magic a EGBB inbound coordinator out of the air at Swanwick or Prestwick centres, there are just not the staff or procedures to do it.
If EGBB called a stop, they did so for very good reasons.

You have hit the nail right on the head