Air traffic was paralyzed when the airspace over southern Norway was closed just before 0630 on Thursday morning.
– The error has now been found and rectified, reports communications manager Cathrine Fuglesang Framholt in Avinor to BA at 0940.
This means that the airspace is opened for air traffic again. But Framholt warns that it will be a cautious start-up, and the trade will still be strongly affected.
– There are many planes waiting, so we will reopen gradually. It will still take time before we get the planes and passengers who are waiting now off, she says.
Thousands of passengers affected
A number of flights across the country were canceled or postponed in the morning hours.
– Due to the incident, there will unfortunately be delays throughout the day, reports Avinor in a press release.
Widerøe’s press contact Lina Lindegaard Carlsen says that the closed airspace has affected 25 of their flights.
– Around a thousand Widerøe passengers are affected. Those affected will be contacted by us, she tells BA.
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At Norwegian, the figure is far higher than that.
– 40 flights and approximately 4,500 of our passengers are affected, says communications advisor Eline Hyggen Skari at Norwegian.
– Working on blast
The press spokesperson for SAS, Joachim Sporsheim, does not know exactly how many of their planes are affected.
– As the airspace has only opened with restrictions, it is difficult to say exactly how many planes will be affected. We are now working hard to get the affected passengers booked, he writes in a text message to BA at 1020.
All travelers are encouraged to refer to information from their airline.
– The important thing is that all information to the passengers will come from the airlines. If you don’t hear anything, you should meet at the airport as usual, says communications manager Cathrine Fuglesang Framholt in Avinor to BA.
Computer problems
Framholt states that there were two computer systems at the control center in Oslo that did not talk to each other as they should. This meant that air traffic in southern Norway could not be managed properly.
– When it has to do with security, there is nothing else to do but close the airspace, she said early Thursday morning.
There were several planes in the airspace in southern Norway when the airspace was closed. These were allowed to land as normal.
Avinor is responsible for 43 state-owned airports as well as the air traffic control service for civil and military aviation in Norway.
Opened gradually
At Bergen Airport, “limited traffic” was restarted at 08:00, operational manager Øystein Skaar told BA.
Data from Flightradar24 then showed that several planes had taken off from Bergen.
– The airspace has been completely closed, but now strict restrictions apply, says communications manager Framholt.
