On June 6th 2017, Belgian air traffic controllers were again confronted with a failure of the CANAC2 system.

Around 10 o’clock local time both west sectors and supervisor position lost the main Thales system, as well as the backup system URS. Since frequencies and the ultimate fallback system remained operational atcos were able to perform a ‘Clear the Sky’ procedure, allowing traffic to exit the FIR.

The failure was caused by a human error: an unlabeled fuse was pulled out in the technical room during a survey for a future project. The system was operational again after 10 minutes.

BGATC is shocked that 2 years after the major electrical failure of 27th May 2015, Belgocontrol has not taken action to separate the electrical supply for both the main as the backup air traffic control system! Moreover it is impermissible that air traffic controllers are not aware of this situation.

BGATC wants to advert to the psychological impact of this latest event on the already very limited number of air traffic controllers.

Safety should be the number one priority at all times for Belgocontrol!

Considering the instability and unreliability of the system, BGATC urges Belgocontrol to take action.

Until the technical issues are structurally solved, Belgocontrol should protect its air traffic controllers and impose traffic regulations in the interest of safety!