Air travelers across Italy faced delays and cancellations on Friday due to a problem with the country’s air traffic control systems.
Air traffic control authority ENAV ruled out unfair acts such as a cyberattack and said it was forced to introduce temporary restrictions on flight volume after identifying a data transmission problem.
Major airports in cities including Rome and Milan warned of likely disruptions and advised passengers to check with their airlines.
What have the authorities said about the problem?
ENAV said it first identified the problem overnight. It was forced to restrict flight volumes around 6 a.m. (0400 GMT/UTC) as the number of scheduled services increased.
“We would like to inform you that this morning we have guaranteed the largest possible number of departures, including intercontinental flights,” ENAV said.
Services over shorter distances were more likely to be interrupted.
“Despite the anomalies encountered on the data transmission network, we are deploying all available resources to minimize disruptions and restore full operations as quickly as possible,” ENAV said. “We confirm an operational capacity of 50% of total air traffic, guaranteeing maximum safety at all times, which remains the Company’s top priority.”
ENAV said it had ruled out the possibility that the disruptions were caused by “malicious acts”.
Rome’s airports operator, ADR, warned passengers that “flight delays and cancellations may occur” and advised them to contact their airline if in doubt. Milan airport company SEA issued a similar notice.
Edited by: Natalie Muller
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