Italian ATC fault causes delays and cancellations at Brussels Airport

A technical fault in Italy's air traffic control systems disrupted Brussels Airport on Friday, delaying flights and forcing Brussels Airlines to cancel a service to Milan. Delays around midday ran from 30 minutes to two hours, the airport said.

Friday's schedule at Brussels had 21 departures to Italy and 21 arrivals from Italian airports. The airport said it was following the situation with airlines and the relevant authorities and advised passengers to check their flight status with their carrier.

Italy's air navigation service provider ENAV said the fault was detected overnight between Thursday and Friday. A backup system was brought into use, but its limited capacity meant traffic had to be reduced. By Friday afternoon the system was handling roughly half its usual volume.

ENAV ruled out sabotage and said work was continuing to establish the cause and restore full service. The disruption at Brussels affected a single day's Italian schedule. The airport did not say whether further disruption was expected.