A single military aircraft entering "spurious" flight data reportedly caused the air traffic control outage that grounded hundreds of flights and disrupted travel for hundreds of thousands of passengers.
The jet submitted a flight plan which caused several hours of chaos for the National Air Traffic Services (NATS) on Tuesday, it has been reported.
NATS briefing reveals cause
Kathryn Leahy, NATS operations director, told industry bosses about the source of the disorder during a briefing on Tuesday evening, an insider said, according to the Financial Times.
More than 2,000 flights had been cancelled within three days as airports across the UK were thrown into turmoil.
Impact on passengers
Tens of thousands of passengers hit by delays and cancellations have been told they are unlikely to receive compensation.
Transport Secretary Heidi Alexander told the House of Commons she believed the outage was avoidable.
