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Air chaos: '10,000' hit by Nats glitch - McLoughlin Air chaos: '10,000' hit by Nats glitch - McLoughlin
(35 minutes later)
Up to 10,000 passengers at Heathrow alone were affected by an air traffic control computer failure, the transport secretary has confirmed.Up to 10,000 passengers at Heathrow alone were affected by an air traffic control computer failure, the transport secretary has confirmed.
Patrick McLoughlin told MPs that Friday's failure was "unacceptable" but vowed to see that it did not happen again.Patrick McLoughlin told MPs that Friday's failure was "unacceptable" but vowed to see that it did not happen again.
Mr McLoughlin said he welcomed the inquiry announced by the Civil Aviation Authority into the chaos.Mr McLoughlin said he welcomed the inquiry announced by the Civil Aviation Authority into the chaos.
He said he hoped the results would be available by March 2015.He said he hoped the results would be available by March 2015.
Investment by the National Air Traffic Service (Nats) has been questioned since the failure, which grounded many flights at Heathrow and Gatwick with knock-on effects at other UK airports. Answering questions from the Transport Committee, Mr McLoughlin defended the overall performance of the the National Air Traffic Service (Nats).
Nats chief executive Richard Deakin has rejected criticism from Business Secretary Vince Cable, who accused the company of "skimping on large-scale investment" and being "penny wise and pound foolish". "The average delay this year in Nats is 2.5 seconds per flight, whereas the rest of Europe we're taking about 30 seconds," he said.
Mr Deakin has also faced calls from Labour MP Paul Flynn to have his bonuses docked because of the disruption. He also compared the disruption to another failure at the Swanwick centre in December 2013. That incident caused 126,000 minutes of delays, compared to Friday's 16,000 minutes.
Investment by Nats has been questioned since Friday's failure, which grounded many flights at Heathrow and Gatwick with knock-on effects at other UK airports.
The company's chief executive, Richard Deakin, has rejected criticism from Business Secretary Vince Cable, who accused the company of "skimping on large-scale investment" and being "penny wise and pound foolish".
The company says it will be spending £575m over the next five years on systems.
Mr Deakin has also faced calls from Labour MP Paul Flynn to have his bonus docked because of the disruption.
Speaking to the BBC, Mr Deakin said he expected his pay to be affected by the incident but stressed that Nats' performance over the year had been good.