London Airspace closed - IT Failure

[tech_guy]

BBC News - London airspace closed after computer failure

 

Heck!

[Garacesh]

Just clocked this story right this minute and came to post it.. Doesn't sound fun! D:

 

Eurocontrol said: "There has been a failure of the flight data computer server at London ACC [area control centre]

Now I'm not 100% on what exactly that means, but if "every possible action" is being taken and they estimate it's down until 7pm, that sounds like a pretty bad failure.

[synaesthesia]

Surely it only takes a couple of minutes to turn it off and on again?

[Tesla]

I fly out to Berlin at 5 tomorrow morning from Luton :/

[LeMarchand]

Couldn't they just ring up Walter O'Brien?

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j9-6DRiLsYE

[Garacesh]

I fly out to Berlin at 5 tomorrow morning from Luton :/

No you don't

 

If they estimate fixed by 7pm I reckon you'll be alright tomorrow. Maybe a few delays but I can't see it being all that bad.

[Tesla]

Yeah, but i'd be surprised if it's actually 7 that it gets fixed by.

[Garacesh]

BBC News page updated slightly:

London's airports reported:

 

• at Heathrow Airport flights were "currently experiencing delays" and planes could be turned away
  
• Incoming flights to Gatwick are continuing to land and all departing flights grounded
  
• Stansted say it is currently working with Nats to find out how it will affect the airport
  

[Oaktech]

I'm not 100% on this, but I used to know a guy who worked on the system when it was brand new and from what he said it was a full blown database recovery if it crashed - he likened it to restoring a massive exchange system for a multinational.

[forkies]

I wouldn't want to be the network manager there! Thought they might have fully redundant systems? I suppose until they say what the actual issue is (if they actually know) it's speculation on the cause.