Almost not a single plane was to be seen in the air over southern Norway on Thursday morning. At approximately 09.30 the airspace opened again.
Less than 3 hours ago
Updated less than 10 minutes ago
Air traffic has been almost completely closed throughout Norway on Thursday morning.
At 09.30 Avinor informs VG that they are opening the airspace in southern Norway. Traffic will still be heavily affected.
– This means that we can start traffic as normal. There will still be major delays throughout the day, so it will take some time to get the flights started, says Monica Fasting in Avinor to VG.
Avinor has asked travelers to follow the information from the airlines and to travel to the airport as usual.
Several flights have been canceled as of 09:22.
Kathrine Ilebakke (28) has been waiting for Gardemo since 8 o’clock. She studies hotel management and is going on a study trip to Zurich in Switzerland.
When she talks to VG, it is just known that air traffic is opening up again.
– My flight is due to leave at 11.05, and we haven’t gotten past check-in yet. Let’s hope it goes! There is a lot of chaos here, she tells VG at 9.30am.
– How has it been to wait so long?
– I do not like it. It’s very boring just sitting here. All the seats are taken, there are no coffee cups in the one cafe, it’s really just tiring.
The reason why air traffic stopped on Thursday morning is a technical error at the Oslo Control Center located in Røyken.
This affects air traffic throughout Norway. All flights to and from Oslo are affected.
You are entitled to this when the flight is delayed
– Significant delays are expected. Duration is currently unknown, writes Avinor in a press release.
– We apologize for the inconvenience this causes. This is all the information we have at the moment. We will come back with more information, they add.
At 07.41 Norwegian reported to VG that the airspace will be temporarily closed until 11.00.
The airline must also cancel several flights.
SAS informed VG that per At 08:45, 41 flights are affected by the error at Avinor.
At 07.35 several planes approach landing in Oslo. Several planes were in the airspace in southern Norway when the news came from Avinor. These will probably land.
Are you affected by the flight chaos? Contact us here
Several have left the plane
Simen Stensås is on flight DY741 from Vernes to Oslo. They were supposed to take off at 06.35, but have been told that the new planned departure time is around 10:42.
– Several have made the choice to get off the plane, writes Stenås in an SMS to VG.
He says that the crew has tried to find other ways to get there, such as flying over Sweden.
Missing the flight to Los Angeles
Tor Inge Moseid is going to Los Angeles – with a stopover in Paris. He has already realized that he will not make the next flight to Los Angeles.
So far, he and his wife have been sitting on the plane at Gardermoen for over an hour.
– Now we get breakfast here, he says.
Moseid believes there is no crisis in having to spend a night in Paris.
– They have told us that the airspace is closed, and that they cannot say anything, says Moseid.
Chris Liestøl and his gang of friends have driven five hours from Kristiansand to Oslo to catch a flight to Turkey that was supposed to leave at 06.30.
– We have been driving all night and were really ready for beer and sun. We have several agreements down there that we had to meet, but now we can’t do any of the parts, says Liestøl, who is still sitting on the plane at Gardermoen.
Norwegian’s press officer, Silje Glorvigen, says that all their flights to and from Oslo will be affected.
– We keep our passengers up to date on what is happening via text message, she tells VG.
Glorvigen does not have figures on how many planes are involved.
Not computer attacks
Ylva Celius in Avinor tells VG that they can rule out computer attacks. The problem originates from within the system.
– It is purely a technical challenge with two systems that do not talk to each other. We are working hard with troubleshooting.
Framholt in Avinor asks travelers to follow the information they receive from the airlines, and to meet at the airport as usual if they are not told otherwise.
VG has received messages from several travelers who say that their flights at various airports in Norway are delayed in the morning hours.
Avinor is responsible for 43 state-owned airports as well as the air traffic control service for civil and military aviation in Norway.
