Northern Norway, Transport | Fiber breaks cause trouble for air traffic in the north: Avinor has set up crisis staff

Update at 17:45: Avinor reports that Alta, Banak, Kirkenes and Honningsvåg have been opened to traffic.

Update at 16:45: Avinor reports that the airspace near Tromsø will be opened to very limited traffic.

Early on Friday afternoon, the airspace in northern Norway was closed. It was VG who first reported the closure. The first report was that it was the airspace over Tromsø that had been hit.

However, the press officer in Avinor, Cathrine Framholt, told iFinnmark that the airspace all the way from Bodø and northwards was affected by the error.

– The fiber break affects Avinor’s technical equipment and the flow of traffic from Bodø and northwards. All available resources are working on the case, she told iFinnmark at 3.49pm.

On its own website, Avinor states that it has set up a central crisis team as a result of the problems.

After the error occurred, several planes that were already in the air when the problems occurred have landed at the airports in the region. Avinor has also issued a statement clarifying that flight safety is not threatened as a result of the error.

– We have other systems that, regardless of the error, ensure a safe termination of the traffic that is already in the air. We have systems and procedures to handle such a situation safely. Flight safety is never at risk.

Passengers are asked to refer to information from their airlines.