Half of European flights face delays after computer failure

European air travelers face mass disruption on Tuesday with around half of all flights at risk of delays following a technical problem at Eurocontrol, the agency in charge of the continent’s skies.

Several of the EU’s biggest airports, including Amsterdam’s Schiphol, warn of problems and advise passengers to check on their flights because of the computer breakdown.

“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,” says a statement from Eurocontrol.

The Brussels-based agency, which coordinates European air traffic control operators, says the cause “has been identified and action is underway to return to normal operations” but that that would not happen until “late this evening.”

— AFP