Flights serving Cyprus have so far escaped the disruption spreading across European airports on Friday, after a fault in Italy’s air navigation systems forced authorities to restrict the country’s airspace. The problem has caused cancellations and lengthy delays both on routes to and from Italy and on aircraft crossing Italian airspace on the way to other destinations.
No disruption reported at Cyprus airports
Hermes Airports, which operates Larnaca and Paphos airports, told Politis on Friday afternoon that “nothing has come up so far”, confirming that no problems had been recorded on flights serving Cypriot airports. This is also reflected on the operator’s website.
Delays are, however, expected for arrivals and departures at Greek airports, with airlines urging passengers to check for possible changes to their scheduled flights.
How the fault developed
According to Italy’s air traffic control service, Enav, the malfunction was detected overnight in the data transmission network that supports air traffic control systems.
Air traffic initially continued using backup systems. However, the increase in traffic during the morning hours made restrictive measures necessary.
Airspace capacity restrictions
Italian authorities and Eurocontrol limited the capacity of Italian airspace, causing knock-on delays across the European air transport network.
From 06:00, air traffic flow regulation was introduced, temporarily reducing the number of aircraft that can be handled in Italian airspace.
Enav said the measures were taken to safeguard flight safety and stated that there are no indications of a cyberattack or sabotage. It is not yet known when the problem will be fully resolved.
Cancellations and delays in Rome and Milan
At Rome’s Fiumicino Airport, four flights to Milan Linate, Riyadh, Tirana and Trieste have been cancelled, while around 20 flights are experiencing delays of between 15 and 60 minutes.
The problems are more severe at airports in Lombardy, where both departures and arrivals are affected. At Milan Malpensa, departure delays range from 30 minutes to more than two hours, with smaller delays on arrivals. At Linate, arriving aircraft are delayed by up to an hour, while some departures exceed that.
Disruption in Bergamo and Trieste
At Bergamo’s Orio al Serio Airport, a Ryanair flight to Trapani scheduled for 06:50 departed an hour and a half late, while another Ryanair flight to Berlin was delayed by one hour and 20 minutes. A Volotea flight from Olbia, due at 07:45, was rescheduled to arrive at 11:18.
At Trieste Airport, a flight from Fiumicino was cancelled, and a service to Milan Linate was pushed back by several hours.
Advice to passengers
Airport authorities have warned that the disruption may affect more flights during the day. Passengers are advised to contact their airlines to confirm their scheduled flights.
This is a developing story.
