Airlines cancelled 20 flights into and out of Dublin Airport on Tuesday as a result of the knock-on impact of an air traffic control technical fault in the United Kingdom.
The travel disruption affecting flights could last for days as further departures and arrivals were affected on Tuesday morning, in addition to the 115 flights cancelled on Monday.
On Tuesday night, Britain’s National Air Traffic Services (Nats) chief executive Martin Rolfe, said there was no evidence of a cyber attack. He said the failure was caused by flight data received by Nats, with both primary and back-up systems responding by suspending automatic processing.
Mr Rolfe said he also wanted to “reassure” people that all Nats systems have been running normally since Monday afternoon to support airline and airport operations.
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He said: “Very occasionally technical issues occur that are complex and take longer to resolve.
“In the event of such an issue our systems are designed to isolate the problem and prioritise continued safe air traffic control.
“This is what happened yesterday.
“At no point was UK airspace closed but the number of flights was significantly reduced.
“Initial investigations into the problem show it relates to some of the flight data we received.
“Our systems, both primary and the back-ups, responded by suspending automatic processing to ensure that no incorrect safety-related information could be presented to an air traffic controller or impact the rest of the air traffic system.
“There are no indications that this was a cyber-attack.
“We have well established procedures, overseen by the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority), to investigate incidents.
“We are already working closely with them to provide a preliminary report to the Secretary of State for Transport on Monday.
“The conclusions of this report will be made public.”
Dublin Airport said its staff worked through the night to help and support any passengers who were staying overnight in the terminals, providing blankets and refreshments, while several food and beverage outlets were kept open all night.
More than 100 flights to and from Ireland were cancelled as a result of the fault on Monday, which knocked out the UK’s National Air Traffic Services (Nats) computer system for more than three hours. The issue affected not only flights between Britain and Ireland but flights that use UK air space.
“There is going to be some knock-on impact today and I suspect for another few days as airlines get their planes and get their services back to normal,” British transport minister Mark Harper told the BBC on Tuesday. He added government officials did not believe the technical problem was the result of a cyber attack.
The destinations affected by Tuesday morning’s flight cancellations included Liverpool, Naples, Verona, Riga, Cagliari, Heathrow and London City. A further four flights were cancelled to and from Cork Airport.
A spokesman for DAA – which manages the airports in both Cork and Dublin – said its team was “working hard to ensure impacted passengers are able to resume their travel plans as quickly and as safely as possible”.
Stephen Crosse was on the phone on Tuesday morning after queuing for three hours at the Ryanair ticket desk. His wife, Elaine, stood beside him. “When we arrived here, all the flights were showing here as on time,” she said.
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It was only after the couple had checked their bags in that they found out their 6.25am flight to Naples was cancelled. They eventually opted to fly with Aer Lingus to Brindisi in Italy on Tuesday instead. “We’re out on car hire and hotel on the other end as well,” Ms Crosse, from Blackrock, Co Louth, said.
Deirdre Felloni, along with eight members of her extended family, travelled to Dublin Airport early on Tuesday to catch a 6.25am flight to Naples. Her brother-in-law is getting married on Thursday.
“Seven of them had already gone through, checked in and gone through security and were waiting in the lounge,” she said, sitting on the ground close to the Ryanair ticket desk.
Ms Felloni was about to check her bags in when she was told that the flight had been cancelled. Since the cancellation, she spent three hours queuing at the ticket desk. “[It’s] extremely stressful,” she said. “We’ve travelled, had no sleep most of us. We all came from Belfast, Enniskillen.”
Giorgia Porro, queuing at the Ryanair ticket desk, had arrived at the airport on Monday evening ahead of a 7.30pm flight home to Genoa, Italy – a flight that was cancelled.
After being turned around at her departure gate, Ms Porro, who was in Dublin for work reasons, was redirected to Ryanair customer service. She spent the night queuing for a new flight, without sleep.
“They gave me a new ticket, to Milan, for a flight that was overbooked,” she said. “They told me: ‘Just try, maybe someone doesn’t [show up]’.”
But everyone did show up to the 6.25am flight to Milan. “I went back to the gate, waited for the boarding, and then they said: ‘No seats for you’. And so I’m [back] here ... 15 hours later,” she said. “I can’t wait to sleep.”
Ms Porro thinks she might have to stay in Ireland for at least two more days because “all the flights to Italy are booked”.
