Italian air-traffic data network fault cancels flights nationwide, ENAV restores full operations

A fault in the national data network

A fault in the data-transmission network that supports air-traffic control services across Italy slowed or halted flights from 6am on Friday, 16 October. Civilian air-traffic management agency ENAV cut its handling capacity by about 50% while the anomalies persisted, saying it did so to keep operations as safe as possible. The agency also ruled out a hacker attack or sabotage as the cause.

The disruption reached airports across the country, from Rome Fiumicino to Milan Linate, Trieste and Lamezia Terme, according to ANSA. Flow-control measures were introduced over the whole national territory, so traffic was metered at each airport instead of running normally.

Airport by airport

At Rome Fiumicino, 12 departing flights were cancelled and about 20 others were delayed by one to two hours. Naples was hit hardest in terms of capacity, as its operating rate was temporarily halved from 28 to 14 movements an hour, with no more than 7 arrivals and 7 departures per hour. Nine departures and eight arrivals were cancelled there, and departing flights faced an average delay of 40 minutes. At Salerno, out of 8 scheduled movements, one arrival and one departure were cancelled and another flight left late.

In Turin, five departures and five arrivals were cancelled, among them flights to Palermo, Munich, Rome Fiumicino and Catania. At Ancona-Falconara, the 9.40 flight to Milan was pushed back to 12.22 and then cancelled, along with the return service from Milan, while the 11.05 flight to London left at 12.55. Airport sources said the situation was still evolving. In Palermo, several flights were cancelled, and the airport operator Gesap published the list on its Facebook page; by late morning departures there had returned to normal. Catania and Comiso also recorded some cancellations and delays.

A three-hour wait on the Geneva to Rome route

An EasyJet flight from Geneva to Rome was scheduled to leave at 6am, but passengers were told it could not take off because of a problem with the air-traffic control system. A passenger told Adnkronos that the departure time first moved to 7.30, then to around 9, and that the aircraft finally left three to three and a half hours late. Some passengers with a connection later that day chose to leave the plane rather than keep waiting. The passenger described the cabin as calm, saying the crew let people see the cockpit and offered breakfast.

Recovery and advice for travellers

ENAV's communiqué said operations had been restored to 100%, which ended the disruption to air traffic across Italy. Naples airport operator GESAC said it was assisting passengers and posting updates through announcements, information screens, its website and social channels. Passengers in Naples, Salerno and Turin were advised to check the status of their flights with their airlines and on official airport channels.