The UK aviation regulator, the Civil Aviation Authority (CAA), has announced the terms of reference for its independent review into the NATS technical incident on 8 September 2026.
This follows a request to the CAA by Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander after the incident, which caused disruption to passengers and caused more than 2,000 flights to be delayed, cancelled or diverted.
NATS published a preliminary report on 18 September, which said that the incident was caused by a software issue.
The Civil Aviation Authority review will examine the NATS report on the causes of disruption on that day, get a picture of the impact on consumers and identify any additional actions that might be needed “to strengthen confidence in the resilience of the UK’s air traffic management system” in the future.
As part of this, the CAA will consider:
- NATS’ strategy and plans for the renewal, replacement and modernisation of critical operations systems, including how business plans could be improved for existing systems and how well NATS is placed to implement the modernisation of those systems
- How well recommendations from previous reviews have been implemented
- The effectiveness of the CAA’s regulatory oversight arrangements
- Any lessons that could be learned from international best practices, including in relation to resilience and recovery from significant disruption
The review will also take into account other similar events, including those that took place at NATS Prestwick centre Scotland on Monday, 21 September. An initial report is to be given to the Secretary of State by the end of January 2027, with a final report delivered by 8 March 2027.
The CAA will appoint an ‘independent challenge panel’ whose members will be approved by the Secretary of State. This panel’s job will be to provide robust expert challenge and advice.
