Hong Kong’s air traffic control system suffers another glitch
Back-up system deployed for first time as operators lose information on positioning and altitude of planes
The new air traffic control system suffered another glitch on Saturday when operators temporarily lost information on the positioning and altitude of a large number of flights.
This triggered the deployment of a back-up system for the first time since the HK$1.56 billion technology went live at the airport in November.
The problem lasted for 15 minutes but flights over Hong Kong airspace and in and out of the airport were not affected, authorities said. Controllers could still maintain audio and satellite contact with aircraft, the department added.
In a contradictory statement a spokeswoman said: “All of the information of the majority of flights was shown. Only a minority of flights could only show their positioning and altitude.”
Aviation and engineering experts insist the Raytheon Auto Trac III system is safe and reliable. The same experts were originally called in to help the department after a number of snags earlier, including flights disappearing from screens, false information appearing and planes flying too close to each other.