Image copyright Getty Images Image caption An error with European air traffic co-ordination was set to affect up to half of Tuesday's 29,500 flights

The organisation responsible for co-ordinating European air traffic says it has fixed an earlier fault which led to widespread flight delays.

Eurocontrol earlier said that delays could affect up to half of all flights in Europe - about 15,000 trips.

It said the faulty system was restarted at 19:00 GMT, and normal operations had resumed.

Tuesday's fault was only the second failure in 20 years, Eurocontrol said - the last happened in 2001.

The unspecified problem was with the Enhanced Tactical Flow Management System, which helps to manage air traffic by comparing demand and capacity of different air traffic control sectors.

It manages up to 36,000 flights a day. Some 29,500 were scheduled on Tuesday when the fault occurred.

When the system failed, Eurocontrol's contingency plan for a failure in the system deliberately reduced the capacity of the entire European network by 10%. It also added what it calls "predetermined departure intervals" at major airports.

In a statement, the group said it "very much regrets the disruption that has been caused to passengers and airlines due to today's outage."

"We have never had anything like this before," a Eurocontrol spokesman told the AFP news agency.

But air traffic control itself was not directly affected, and Eurocontrol said "safety was not compromised at any time".

Earlier in the day, several European airports had warned passengers to expect delays, with Brussels Airport saying it was limited to just 10 departures every hour. Schiphol in Amsterdam, Helsinki, and Dublin airports also warned passengers about delays of varied lengths.

On Tuesday afternoon, Eurocontrol said its contingency plan would be in place for several hours, "until we are certain that sufficient data is in the system to allow it to operate completely correctly".

Eurocontrol announced the system restart later in the day, after what it called extensive testing.

It also asked airlines to resend any flight plans filed before 10:26 UTC, which it says were lost in the system failure.

Under EU law, passengers on delayed flights are usually entitled to compensation. But an exemption applies if the delay was caused by an "extraordinary circumstance" out of the airline's control.</s>Up to half of all flights in Europe face delays today after the EU's air traffic control system failed.

Eurocontrol, which runs the system, said that a technical problem means that as many as half a million passengers could be affected.

'Today 29,500 flights were expected in the European network. Approximately half of those could have some delay as a result of the system outage,' Eurocontrol said.

The disruption comes as flights at the UK's two busiest airports could be hit with delays over the next three weeks as air traffic controllers introduce new technology.

Both Heathrow and Gatwick will suffer disruption as Nats (National Air Traffic Services) replaces paper flight information strips with a digital system at its control centre in Swanwick, Hampshire.

Several of the EU's biggest airports, including Amsterdam's Schiphol, warned of delays and warned passengers to check on their flights.

One passenger Rachel Waterman tweeted: 'Settling in for a 6 hour delay as European Air Traffic Control has crashed. Sorry to be that person but has anyone tried turning it off and turning it on again?.'

'We have never had anything like this before,' a Eurocontrol spokesman told AFP.

Eurocontrol tweeted that 'there has been a failure of the Enhanced Tactical Flow Management System', which compares traffic demand with local air traffic control regions.

'Contingency procedures are being put in place which will have the effect of reducing the capacity of the European network by approximately 10 percent,' the agency said.

Eurocontrol said it had identified the problem and expected to resolve it 'late (Tuesday) evening'.

It added that air traffic control had not been directly affected and 'there are no safety implications arising from this incident.'

Brussels airport said departures were limited to 10 flights an hour. The Belgian airport manages 650 flights a day, according to its website.

Several airports across the continent warned of problems, with Schiphol saying that the 'system failure' at Eurocontrol could have 'possible consequences' for departures.

Helsinki airport also said its traffic was facing delays.</s>Around half of all flights in Europe could be delayed due to a fault with an air traffic management system.

The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, commonly known as Eurocontrol, warned that around 15,000 flights may be disrupted after it suffered a computer failure.

The issue affected a system that controls air traffic by analysing demand and capacity.

Flight plans submitted to Eurocontrol before 11.26am were lost and airlines were asked to resubmit the information.

A spokesman for the organisation, which has 41 member states including the UK, said: "We are very sorry about all the disruption and are working hard to get operations back to normal.</s>Around half of all flights in Europe could be delayed due to a fault with an air traffic management system.

The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, commonly known as Eurocontrol, warned that around 15,000 flights may be disrupted after it suffered a computer failure.

The issue affected a system that controls air traffic by analysing demand and capacity.

Flight plans submitted to Eurocontrol before 11.26am were lost and airlines were asked to resubmit the information.

A spokesman for the organisation, which has 41 member states including the UK, said: "We are very sorry about all the disruption and are working hard to get operations back to normal.

Luton-based airline easyJet said in a statement: "Due to an earlier flight failure of the Eurocontrol flight planning system, easyJet like other airlines experienced delays to some departing flights.

"Ten flights were delayed between one hour and three hours with 16 flights delayed as a knock-on effect caused by the initial delays. EasyJet will operate 1,598 flights today.

Budget airline Ryanair also confirmed some flights are experiencing delays and further delays are expected.

However Heathrow, the UK's busiest airport, said there was no impact on its operations.

Some 59% of departing flights at Gatwick were delayed between 3pm and 4pm, according to airline data company FlightStats.

A spokeswoman for the West Sussex airport was unable to immediately confirm that the disruption was caused by the system failure.

UK air traffic control provider NATS said the problem was unconnected to its planned airspace capacity restrictions which come into force on Wednesday as a new technology system is introduced.</s>Up to half of all European flights on Tuesday could suffer from delays due to a failure in one of the systems used to manage air traffic.

The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation said almost 15,000 scheduled flights in Europe "could have some delay".

Contingency plans put in place have reduced the network capacity by another 10%, it said.

The problem is expected to be solved late on Tuesday evening.

The safety group, also known by its shorter name Eurocontrol, said there had been a failure in its Enhanced Tactical Flow Management System.

The system helps to manage air traffic by comparing demand and capacity of different air traffic control sectors.

Air traffic control itself has not been directly affected, and Eurocontrol said there "are no safety implications arising from this incident".

Its contingency plans will be maintained for several hours, "until we are certain that sufficient data is in the system to allow it to operate completely correctly," it said.

Separately, employees of Air France are on strike for the fourth consecutive day, reducing the airline's capacity by 25%.</s>A glitch in Europe’s computerised air space and flight management system has led to widespread flight delays and cancellations across the continent. 



Eurocontrol, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation, said about half of flights travelling across Europe could be subject to delays after a system failure at about midday on Tuesday.

The organisation said that its “enhanced tactical flow management system” had failed. The system links to air traffic control centres across Europe to determine when flights can best take off or land, affecting flight planning.

About half of the 29,500 flights expected to operate on Tuesday in the European network could be delayed, it said.

A significant proportion of flights in and out of London City airport were delayed, although Heathrow said it had been largely unaffected.

Work to restore the system was under way after the problem was identified, but it was unlikely to be in operation before the evening.

Air traffic control systems are being increasingly interlinked in the development of the Single European Sky, which the aviation industry hopes will increase the efficiency of flights and make best use of airspace.

More disruption could be in store for air passengers in the UK from Wednesday as the Nats air traffic control centre at Swanwick, which manages the airspace handling most British flights, continues the digitisation of its systems.

Passengers face potential delays as airspace capacity is reduced during the transition period, when the use of paper flight strips to document instructions to pilots from controllers is phased out in favour of an electronic system.

While Nats has started the process, this week will be “undoubtedly the most challenging”, according to Pete Dawson, the general manager of Nats’ London Terminal Control, as it affects airspace covering Britain’s biggest airports.

Nats has warned that delays of up to 20 minutes for some flights are possible at peak times, and that flights may have to operate later at night and earlier in the morning at Heathrow and Gatwick during the transition.

The move comes as part of a broader overhaul of airspace, which controllers and the Department for Transport want to see modernised and reshaped to provide more capacity, with the skies increasingly congested in the south-east of England.</s>BRUSSELS (AFP, REUTERS) - Around half of all flights in Europe faced delays on Tuesday (Apr 3) after a technical problem at Eurocontrol, which runs the EU’s air traffic control system, the agency said.

“Today 29,500 flights were expected in the European network. Approximately half of those could have some delay as a result of the system outage,” a Eurocontrol statement said.

The failure of the ETFMS system comes on a day when travellers in France have been hit by strikes by rail workers and Air France employees.

European network manager Eurocontrol put in contingency measures as a result, but the failure meant flight plans filed by airlines before 1026 GMT were lost and has led to restrictions on the number of departures at airports across Europe.

"Air Traffic Control has not been directly affected and there are no safety implications arising from this incident,"Eurocontrol said in a statement.

"We have never had anything like this before," a Eurocontrol spokesman told AFP.

It later said the issue had been identified but it would take until late on Tuesday evening to recover the system.

Airports, including Schiphol, Brussels and Helsinki, also warned travellers that delays could occur. Brussels airport said departures were limited to 10 flights an hour. The Belgian airport manages 650 flights a day, according to its website.

Several airports across the continent warned of problems, with Schiphol saying that the "system failure" at Eurocontrol could have "possible consequences" for departures.

Helsinki airport also said its traffic was facing delays.</s>Airports across Europe warned of disruptions on Tuesday after a technical problem at Eurocontrol, the agency that runs the EU’s air traffic control system.

The Brussels-based agency said the breakdown would reduce capacity in the busy skies above Europe by 10 percent.

Several of the EU’s biggest airports, including Amsterdam’s Schiphol, warned of delays and warned passengers to check on their flights.

“We have never had anything like this before,” a Eurocontrol spokesman told AFP.

Eurocontrol tweeted that “there has been a failure of the Enhanced Tactical Flow Management System”, which compares traffic demand with local air traffic control regions.

“Contingency procedures are being put in place which will have the effect of reducing the capacity of the European network by approximately 10 percent,” the agency said.

Eurocontrol said it had identified the problem and expected to resolve it “late (Tuesday) evening”.

It added that air traffic control had not been directly affected and “there are no safety implications arising from this incident.”

Brussels airport said departures were limited to 10 flights an hour. The Belgian airport manages 650 flights a day, according to its website.

Several airports across the continent warned of problems, with Schiphol saying that the “system failure” at Eurocontrol could have “possible consequences” for departures.

Helsinki airport also said its traffic was facing delays.</s>Up to half of all European flights on Tuesday could suffer from delays due to a failure in one of the systems used to manage air traffic.

Eurocontrol, which co-ordinates flights across the continent, said almost 15,000 scheduled trips “could have some delay”.

Contingency plans put in place have reduced the network capacity by another 10%, it said.

The problem is expected to be solved late on Tuesday evening.

Eurocontrol said there had been a failure in its Enhanced Tactical Flow Management System.

The system helps to manage air traffic by comparing demand and capacity of different air traffic control sectors.

Air traffic control itself has not been directly affected, and Eurocontrol said there “are no safety implications arising from this incident”.</s>Half of flights travelling across Europe face delays due to computer failures, the continent's air safety group said.

The continent-wide system which determines when and where planes can safely fly, land and take-off failed at about lunchtime on Tuesday, the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) said.

Half of flights across Europe face being delayed by the failure of the Enhanced Tactical Flow Management System (ETFMS).

About 10% of flights will have to be cancelled, the Brussels-based organisation said.

Airlines have been asked to refile any flight plans for flights which have yet to take-off.

Brussels Airport said it is only allowing 10 flights an hour to depart due to the failure.

Amsterdam's Schipol Airport said some flights may be delayed, with passengers asked to check online before leaving for the airport.

A spokeswoman for London Heathrow said the airport is not expecting to have any delays due to the failure and it is "business as normal".

Eurocontrol covers 41 states across Europe and has agreements with countries in northern Africa, the Middle East and central Asia to ensure air traffic flows safely and as smoothly as possible.

The failure comes a day before air-traffic control procedures in south-east England are overhauled as they switch from a 20th Century system using paper strips to an electronic tool.

Heathrow and Gatwick Airports have been given permission to allow 10 extra flights each to fly in after 11.30am and before 6am for 10 days to ensure there are no spikes in air traffic so controllers can adjust to the new system.
An air traffic control system failure in Europe delays up to 15,000 flights, according to the European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation.