Latest news with #AgnesZilouri
Khaleej Times
20-05-2025
- Khaleej Times
At least 130 flights cancelled at Paris airport after control tower breakdown
A control tower breakdown forced the cancellation of about 130 flights at Paris Orly airport Sunday, leaving thousands of passengers to scramble for alternative routes, officials said. A spokesman for Aeroports de Paris, which operates the French capital's second busiest airport, said about 40 per cent of the day's departures and arrivals had been called off. France's DGAC civil aviation authority blamed "a failure of the air traffic control systems at the Orly tower early in the afternoon" for what it said had been a "significant" reduction in the number of flights. An aviation source told AFP that a radar breakdown caused the airport chaos. The airport spokesman said about half the 130 cancelled flights were departures and half incoming flights. Flights across France and to other European destinations and North Africa were among those hit. The DGAC would not say whether flights would return to normal on Monday. Stood near a line of suitcases, Agnes Zilouri, 46, tried desperately to find a seat for her 86-year-old mother and six year old son. The family had been meant to take a flight to Oujda in Morocco on Sunday evening to go to a funeral. "The flight is cancelled. Fortunately I am with my mother," she said. Last year Orly handled about 33 million passengers, approximately half the number of the main Paris Charles de Gaulle international airport.
Daily Mirror
19-05-2025
- Daily Mirror
Ongoing travel chaos at European hotspot as dozens of flights cancelled
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. "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. 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. "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.
Local France
18-05-2025
- Local France
Control tower breakdown forces flight cancellations as Paris Orly airport
A spokesman for Aeroports de Paris, which operates the French capital's second busiest airport, said on Sunday about 40 percent of the day's departures and arrivals had been called off. France's DGAC civil aviation authority blamed "a failure of the air traffic control systems at the Orly tower early in the afternoon" for what it said had been a "significant" reduction in the number of flights. An aviation source told AFP that a radar breakdown caused the airport chaos. The DGAC asked airlines to cancel 15 percent of scheduled flights from Orly on Monday. The airport spokesman said about half the 130 flights cancelled on Sunday were departures and half incoming flights. Flights across France and to other European destinations and North Africa were among those hit. The DGAC would not say whether flights would return to normal on Monday. Advertisement Stood near a line of suitcases, Agnes Zilouri, 46, tried desperately to find a seat for her 86-year-old mother and six year old son. The family had been meant to take a flight to Oujda in Morocco on Sunday evening to go to a funeral. "The flight is cancelled. Fortunately I am with my mother," she said. Last year Orly handled about 33 million passengers, approximately half the number of the main Paris Charles de Gaulle international airport.
GMA Network
18-05-2025
- GMA Network
Control tower breakdown brings flight chaos to Paris airport
This photograph shows flights information boards displaying a message during a breakdown in air traffic control systems at Paris-Orly airport in Orly, France, on May 18, 2025. Aurore Mesenge/ AFP ORLY, France — A control tower breakdown forced the cancellation of about 130 flights at Paris Orly airport Sunday, leaving thousands of passengers to scramble for alternative routes, officials said. A spokesman for Aeroports de Paris, which operates the French capital's second busiest airport, said about 40 percent of the day's departures and arrivals had been called off. France's DGAC civil aviation authority blamed "a failure of the air traffic control systems at the Orly tower early in the afternoon" for what it said had been a "significant" reduction in the number of flights. An aviation source told AFP that a radar breakdown caused the airport chaos. The airport spokesman said about half the 130 cancelled flights were departures and half incoming flights. Flights across France and to other European destinations and North Africa were among those hit. The DGAC would not say whether flights would return to normal on Monday. Stood near a line of suitcases, Agnes Zilouri, 46, tried desperately to find a seat for her 86-year-old mother and six-year-old son. The family had been meant to take a flight to Oujda in Morocco on Sunday evening to go to a funeral. "The flight is cancelled. Fortunately I am with my mother," she said. Last year Orly handled about 33 million passengers, approximately half the number of the main Paris Charles de Gaulle international airport. — AFP
Daily Mail
18-05-2025
- Daily Mail
Travel chaos at Europe hotspot airport after control tower break down sees more than 100 flights cancelled
A popular European airport has been plunged into chaos after the breakdown of a control tower forced the cancellation of 130 flights. Thousands of passengers have been left scrambling for alternative travel routes after Paris Orly Airport, which handles over 30 million passengers a year, suffered a 'failure in their air traffic control systems', officials have said. A spokesman for Aeroports de Paris, which operates the French capital's second busiest airport, said about 40 percent of the day's departures and arrivals had been called off. Passengers hoping to travel to destinations including Spain, Italy, Austria and Germany have been left stranded after experiencing flight cancellations, while others endured lengthy delays. France 's DGAC civil aviation authority blamed the 'significant' reduction in flight numbers on 'a failure of the air traffic control systems' that had taken place at the Orly tower early this afternoon. Meanwhile, an aviation source revealed that the chaos at the travel hub had been caused by a radar breakdown. The airport spokesman said about half of the 130 cancelled flights were departures, while half had been incoming flights. Flights across France and to an abundance of other destinations across Europe and North Africa were among those most severely hit. The DGAC were unable to confirm whether flights would return to normal on Monday. Amid the mayhem and stood near a line of suitcases, Agnes Zilouri, 46, tried desperately to find a seat for her 86-year-old mother and six year old son after her flight had been cancelled. The family had been meant to take a flight to Oujda in Morocco on Sunday evening to go to a funeral. Speaking on the devastation of the chaos, Ms Zilouri added: 'The flight is cancelled. Fortunately I am with my mother'. Meanwhile, another frustrated passenger took to X to share their dismay at their flight cancellation from Dublin to Paris, stating: 'My 19:45 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.' Pictured: a traveller looks on at the flight information board at Paris Orly Airport. France's DGAC civil aviation authority blamed the 'significant' reduction in flight numbers on 'a failure of the air traffic control systems' that had taken place at the Orly tower early this afternoon Serving as a secondary hub for domestic and international flights, Orly Airport handled an estimated 33 million passengers last year, approximately half the number of the main Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) International airport. Prior to the opening of CDG in 1974, Orly was the main airport of Paris. The travel mayhem comes just a week after an IT meltdown sparked travel chaos for holidaymakers at the UK's Stansted Airport, with up to 10,000 passengers missing flights on Saturday, May 17. Travellers faced 'utter carnage' and delays after an IT failure at around 2.30am brought operations to a standstill. Holidaymakers were forced to queue for hours through check-in, baggage and security, while Jet2 and Tui delayed departures to wait for passengers to reach the gate. Some were even made to enter huge queues stretching outside the airport terminal before they were able to enter the building. At the time, one furious passenger wrote on X: 'Some people are queuing outside just to get inside the airport terminal. Some have given up and gone home as they have missed their flights.'
