Air traffic control can't play catch-up

In aviation, safety is governed by the hallowed principle of redundancy.

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This means ensuring that an aircraft has at least one - and sometimes more - backups for its systems. Therefore, if something should fail, the plane will, in theory at least, be able to get back on the ground.

That is why it is astounding to learn that the body charged with regulating our airspace and the air traffic within it - Air Traffic and Navigation Services (ATNS) - appears to have been caught flatfooted on one of the busiest flight periods of the year over the past weekend, simply because someone booked off sick.