Radar glitch caused flight halt in northern Italy, says air traffic controller

Rome: The incident on Saturday that led to the suspension of flights in northwestern Italy was caused by a malfunction in the radar transmission system in Milan, Italy's air traffic controller Enav said on Sunday.

New departures and entries into the airspace covered by the system were halted from 8:20 p.m. to 10:20 p.m. (1820-2020 GMT), the company said in a statement. Capacity was gradually restored until returning to normal by midnight.

Enav activated an emergency satellite system to ensure the safe management of flights that were already in the air at the time of the incident, before halting new air traffic in the area in line with international safety standards.

"The problem affected the connectivity that allows radar data to flow to the operations room, which is provided by an external telecommunications supplier, namely TIM," Enav said, referring to Telecom Italia.

In a statement, TIM said it was not involved in the incident and that radar operations depend on multiple systems managed by different operators. It also expressed confidence that ongoing investigations will clarify responsibilities.

Italian news agency Ansa said about 320 flights were affected due to the radar malfunction, adding that some 200 camp beds had been set up for passengers impacted by the disruption in Milan's two airports.