Flights from Tallinn Airport among those affected by flight system failure
Some flights scheduled to depart from Tallinn Airport will be canceled as of 6 p.m. due to a failure of the Enhanced Tactical Flow Management System (EFTMS), airport communications chief Priit Koff said.
"There is a restriction regarding Tallinn Airport that three flights per hour can take off from here," Koff told BNS, adding that three regular flights have been scheduled to depart from Tallinn between 4 and 5 p.m., and that there are no issues with flights departing between 5 and 6 p.m., as the restriction does not affect Helsinki and Riga flights.
"The rush hour will begin at 6 p.m., when eight flights are scheduled to take off during the hour," Koff explained. "We are currently determining which flights will depart and which won't. The most up-to-date information can be found on our homepage."
According to the airport official, those planes which are already en route will be allowed to land in Tallinn, but from there on out, there are currently restrictions placed on other European airports as well. He noted that Tallinn Airport currently does not have information regarding which later flights will be able to land in Tallinn.
The European Organisation for the Safety of Air Navigation (Eurocontrol) announced on Tuesday that due to a failure in the ETFMS, contingency procedures are being put in place which will have the effect of reducing the capacity of the European network by approximately ten percent.
"Work is underway to solve the issue, and further information will be provided as soon as possible," Eurocontrol said.
The ETFMS is central to the flow management function of the Network Manager, which regulates the flow of flights around Europe. Air Traffic Control has not been directly affected and there are no safety implications arising from this incident, the organization added.
Nordica likely to cancel some flights
Estonian state-owned airline Nordic Aviation Group, which operates under the Nordica brand, has announced that it is likely to cancel two of its six flights on Tuesday.
As a result of the switch to contingency procedures, the capacity of the European network has been reduced.
"For Nordia, this means restrictions," Nordica CCO Kristel Penu told BNS. "This means us being unable to operate as many flights now as we'd been planning to. We do have a list of flights that will take off definitely, of which there are currently four. Munich and Brussels are currently uncertain."
Editor: Aili Vahtla
Source: BNS