Friday 26 / April / 2024
Frankfurt: A Lufthansa spokesperson reported on Wednesday a company-wide system fault, with massive delays and disruptions in airlines resulting from the failure.
Lufthansa cited a statement by German network provider Telekom explaining that several glass-fiber cables were damaged in Frankfurt during construction work.
The company quoted the statement in saying that the complete fixing of the cable disruptions would likely take until Wednesday afternoon.
Who was affected by the disruptions?
Lufthansa said it could not confirm a report that all flights had been grounded. It was currently unclear whether all departures were canceled or not.
However, at least several flights were canceled, with no exact number of affected flights given at this point in time, as systems for check-in as well as for boarding were disrupted.
German air traffic control was temporarily re-routing all aircrafts landing in Frankfurt airport to other destinations such as Cologne, Düsseldorf and Nürnberg because of the breakdown. The measure intended to prevent the hub from filling up, an air traffic control spokesperson confirmed.
Take-offs, on the other hand, were still possible in Frankfurt. Lufthansa's second-biggest hub, Munich, was not restricted by air traffic control at this point in time. If problems persisted, this could become an option, a spokesperson of air traffic control said.
International flights were also affected by the failure, leading to many passengers potentially missing their connecting flights.
Passengers and aircraft staff alike were stranded at Frankfurt airport. A spokesperson in Frankfurt said that the company was intensively working on a solution. Other airports in Germany seemed to be less affected.
Reuters reported Lufthansa's shares were down by 1.2% following the system fault.
