Either this is all monumental incompetence, or the real story isn't being released.

Coincidentally, Birmingham airport was shut for a couple of hours today after an air traffic control failure.

If that's the end of the story, it's fair to assume there's no connection.

If there's a spate of air traffic control and/or other failures over the next few days, it's going to be hard not to wonder if something else is going on.