Essen/Dusseldorf.
An IT failure at Lufthansa caused delays at many airports on Wednesday – including in Düsseldorf. However, Verdi is sticking to the strike.
An IT failure at Lufthansa caused chaos at many airports throughout Germany on Wednesday. Also the Dusseldorf Airport is affected by delays. The system failure was triggered by cable damage on a construction site in Frankfurt. 230 of 1000 planned flights were canceled at Frankfurt Airport. Some flights were diverted and passengers were asked to switch to trains. In the afternoon, the airport was reopened for landings after a three-hour closure.
Eurowings was not affected by the failure
Due to the IT system failure, check-in and handling on Lufthansa flights were delayed because they are carried out manually, explains Süleyman Ucar, spokesman for Düsseldorf Airport, to the editorial team. “Therefore, the flights start with delays. Flight operations are otherwise unaffected.”
The take-offs and landings of the Lufthansa subsidiary, Eurowings, were not affected at Düsseldorf Airport, according to Ucar. At the Cologne/Bonn Airport So far there have been no noticeable effects from the breakdown, as reported by spokesman Alexander Weise. In the course of the day, however, the IT problem caused a large increase in traffic at the NRW airports.
Lufthansa expects its flight operations to stabilize early on Wednesday evening. But it will take longer to normalize. In addition, the company began to restart the computer systems. “We will feel the effects throughout the day,” said a spokesman. For Thursday, a largely normal process is expected again.
IT breakdown at Lufthansa: Flights from Frankfurt land in Düsseldorf and Cologne
According to the German Press Agency, landings at Frankfurt Airport have been possible again since the afternoon. Previously headed the German Air Traffic Control Airplanes no longer go to Frankfurt Airport. This should prevent the turnstile from filling up, a spokesman for air traffic control confirmed. The machines were diverted to other airports such as Nuremberg, Cologne or Düsseldorf. Three flights were diverted to Düsseldorf, a spokesman for Düsseldorf Airport confirmed.
The IT glitch was triggered according to the assessment of the Lufthansa of construction work on a railway line in Frankfurt. According to the company, several fiber optic cables from Deutsche Telekom were severed by an excavator on Tuesday.
They are working “at full speed” to repair the lines like that telecom communicates. “We are on site with everything that is available.” The repairs began on Tuesday evening and continued throughout the night. Some have already been repaired. “The lines are now gradually coming back.” When the work A Telekom spokesman emphasizes that the situation will improve significantly over the course of Wednesday afternoon.
Airport strike on Friday: flights are diverted to Düsseldorf
Even after the system failure, the Verdi union is sticking to the warning strike announced for Friday. This could have an impact on air traffic in Düsseldorf – even if only indirectly. “Düsseldorf and Cologne/Bonn have not been called to go on strike,” confirmed Özay Tarim, the trade union secretary responsible earnings this editorial office on Wednesday morning. However, it is possible that take-offs and landings from other airports will switch to the two large NRW airports. “There have been inquiries from airlines to switch to Düsseldorf Airport,” said Süleyman Ucar, spokesman for Düsseldorf Airport, when asked.
If possible, the additional volume should have as little impact on passengers as possible: “In order to ensure that there are no restrictions for our passengers, we are currently checking how many alternative flights are possible and are planning appropriate capacities.” However, it is unclear whether flights will also be on the Cologne/Bonn Airport are to be relocated. “We have no information about that now,” says spokesman Alexander Weise.
The airports in Frankfurt and Munich announced on Wednesday evening that there would be no regular flight operations on Friday due to the strike. (with dpa)
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