Ongoing travel chaos at European hotspot as dozens of flights cancelled

Daily Mirror

19-05-2025

Paris-Orly airport has been hit by flight cancellations and delays after the air traffic control systems suffered a malfunction, which caused widespread disruption
A glitch with air traffic control systems has caused havoc at Paris-Orly airport.
On Sunday thousands of passengers found themselves stuck on planes that were about to take off only to be cancelled at the last minute at the French airport. The chaos has continued today, with dozens of planes grounded.
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"The situation is improving," the DGAC assured, while instructing airlines to cut Monday's flights by 15%, an improvement from Sunday's 40% slash. "Despite these preventive measures, delays are expected," they warned in a fresh alert to passengers. The DGAC held back from explaining the cause of the system failure.
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According to La Depeche, the air traffic control issue relates to a radar malfunction. In order to ensure maximum safety, the civil aviation authority has asked airlines to reduce their flight schedules by 15% at Orly. This allows air traffic controllers to space out flights further.
In addition to these cancellations, the DGAC also indicates that "despite these preventive measures, delays are to be expected." It advises all affected passengers to contact their airlines to find out the status of their flights.
The situation at the French travel hub was considerably worse on Sunday than it is today. Yesterday, roughly 130 flights were cancelled, with a roughly 50:50 split on arrivals and departures.
Agnes Zilouri was one of those who was caught up in the chaos. The 46-year-old was trying to find a seat for her 86-year-old mother and six-year-old son after her flight was grounded. The family had been travelling to Morocco for a funeral, Mail Online reported.
Many found themselves about to take-off only to be told their flights had been cancelled last minute. "We were on the plane, all seated and belted up, ready to leave, when they made us disembark and collect our luggage... Then we had to struggle," Azgal Abichou, a 63-year-old business owner, told AFP.
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"The only solution is a 300-euro flight, but there's only one seat left, and there are two of us. And we're not sure it'll take off," 22-year-old student Romane Penault lamented. So, "for now, we're going home."
Others took to X to share tales of their aviation woes. One wrote: "My 7.45pm flight to Orly from Dublin was cancelled. It's been almost two hours, and still no email that informs me of a cancellation. It's ridiculous to have to find out right as I walk into the airport."
Paris-Orly, the capital's secondary hub, deals with both domestic and international destinations, including to other European nations and the USA. A specific hit has been taken by flights bound for Italy, Spain, Portugal, and southern France, which saw numerous cancellations on Monday.
Flight Aware, which tracks delays and cancellations across airports globally, notes that 37 flights to and from Orly have been cancelled in the past 24 hours up to 11am on Monday. Last year's passenger figures show more than 33 million voyagers passed through Paris-Orly, less than half of the traffic seen at Paris' leading airport, Charles-de-Gaulle, data from Aeroport de Paris revealed.