A computer glitch led to a temporary closure of Swiss airspace on Wednesday morning. The technical problem at the Swiss air traffic control system Skyguide initially paralyzed Geneva Airport and also caused disruptions in Zurich. According to Skyguide, the entire airspace was then blocked for safety reasons. The measure was lifted after a few hours.
Geneva Airport announced on Twitter in the morning that no planes could take off or land until the morning. At the airport, numerous travelers waited in front of the information screens for news. Some flights were canceled, others were more than three hours late.
“Airspace closed for security reasons”
There were also problems in Zurich, the country’s largest airport, as reported by the Swiss news agency Keystone-SDA. The airport announced in the morning that air traffic had started again, but only 50 percent of the usual flight movements could take place later in the day and 75 percent. Both airports asked travelers to get the latest information from their airlines.
Skyguide reacted to the problems in the morning by completely closing the airspace. “Swiss air traffic control Skyguide experienced a technical fault in the early hours of the morning, which is why Swiss airspace was closed to traffic for safety reasons,” the company said. The company expressed its regret for the inconvenience this caused.
Flights were diverted to Milan
A few hours later, Skyguide tweeted that the airspace was open again. The technical problems have been resolved. The company did not provide any details about the breakdown.
According to Keystone-SDA, international flights to Switzerland were diverted to Milan in northern Italy during the airspace closure. The Zurich Airport website stated that a flight from New York to Frankfurt am Main and a plane from Singapore to Munich were sent.