On 6 June 2017, a new failure – due to the accidental unplugging of a cable – led to the whole control system being unavailable for 10 minutes. The first backup system did not work – as it was controlled by the same cable – and controllers therefore had to rely on the fallback system that obviously lacks a lot of important functionalities.

Following this incident (the third one in only 3 years), BeCA issued a Press Release (http://bit.ly/2uwYRnw) expressing our safety concerns, which received good media coverage, and sent a letter on 3 July 2017 (http://bit.ly/2wP1Ybw) to Mr Decuyper – Belgocontrol CEO – urging them to carry out an in-depth systemic analysis of the structural factors that contributed to these incidents.

How is it possible that both the main system and the backup system are plugged into the same cable? How come a common action by a single man, such as unplugging, can happen and lead to the simultaneous failure of these two systems? How is it possible that the Belgian airspace must be closed because of a lack of air traffic controllers to carry on the work (April 2016)?

As safety professionals and first-end users, we believe this situation is unacceptable. All these questions must be answered, proper mitigation measures be implemented without delay and understaffing problems be solved. Several air traffic controllers expressed their concerns and do not trust anymore their own working tools, leading to even more stress over them. We are in close contacts with them and we will follow up on this issue, to ensure that safety is guaranteed and trust restored.