Passengers at Dublin Airport stranded due to radar malfunction

On Wednesday, over 200 flights at the Dublin International Airport were delayed, cancelled or diverted when air traffic controllers found that radar system malfunctions were making it impossible to operate safely.

Aircraft were banned from landing at Ireland’s busiest airport by the Irish Aviation Authority for around two hours when the radar system failed to display the call signs of incoming aircraft. Thousands of passengers were left stranded at the Dublin facility and at other airports around the country.

Later in the afternoon both landings and takeoffs resumed, but at around 50 percent of the normal volume. The Irish Aviation Authority issued a warning that air traffic restrictions would likely continue into Thursday – meaning more delays and cancellations for passengers.

The authority oversees the control of air traffic throughout Ireland, and committed that its engineers would work with the radar system vendor throughout the night to repair the problems.

Budget carrier Ryanair, the airport’s largest user, was forced to cancel 74 of its flights, delaying around 13,000 passengers. It issued a warning to other passengers that they should expect delays of up to five hours.

The airline criticised the Irish Aviation Authority for not dealing with the radar problem before Wednesday, and called for a government investigation of the matter.

The Irish Aviation Authority acknowledged the problem had arisen previously and that the engineers from the vendor had arrived this week to look into the problem.

www.dublin-airport.com