Airplanes, delays and cancellations Enav: "Anomalies on the data network" Capacity halved No hacker attack

Italy's air traffic faced widespread disruptions early Friday due to technical issues with data transmission networks operated by the national air navigation service provider, Enav. Flights were delayed or canceled at major airports including Rome’s Fiumicino, Milan’s Malpensa and Linate, Bergamo’s Orio al Serio, Naples, Bari, and Turin. According to Enav, the problems began during the night and worsened after 6 a.m. as air traffic increased. By mid-morning, Enav stated that more than half of flight routes had been restored, though operations remained significantly reduced. The disruptions affected both domestic and international flights. At Fiumicino Airport, there were 48 canceled flights, including connections to Milan Linate, Riyadh, Tirana, and Trieste, while 191 flights were delayed by between 15 and 60 minutes. Similar issues were reported at other airports, with delays ranging from 20 minutes to over two hours. Airports such as Naples and Salerno implemented measures to reduce the number of takeoffs and landings to ensure safety, cutting hourly movements in half. At Orio al Serio Airport in Bergamo, Ryanair flights experienced significant delays. A flight scheduled for 6:50 a.m. to Trapani departed one hour and 30 minutes late, while another Ryanair flight bound for Berlin was delayed by one hour and 20 minutes. The Volotea flight arriving from Olbia at 7:45 a.m. was expected to arrive at 11:18 a.m., according to airport notices. Enav confirmed that the anomalies were not attributed to malicious activity, ruling out cyberattacks as a cause. Technical checks were ongoing to identify the root of the issue and restore full operational capacity. The company emphasized its collaboration with external suppliers, including Telecom Italia, which manages and maintains the data network. Passengers were advised to check their flight status directly with their respective airlines. At Fiumicino, Aeroporti di Roma activated a WhatsApp chatbot to provide real-time updates on flight statuses. Similar communication channels were used at other airports to keep travelers informed. The situation added to existing challenges at Italian airports, where some flights were already affected by strikes involving pilots and cabin crew from EasyJet. This compounded the difficulties for passengers trying to navigate through the day’s travel disruptions. At Bari Airport, four outbound flights were canceled, including an Ita flight to Milan Linate and two Ryanair flights to Milan Orio al Serio and Malpensa. Additionally, four inbound flights were also canceled, affecting arrivals from various destinations. Similar issues were reported at Brindisi Airport, although specific details on cancellations were not fully outlined. Across Italy, the impact varied by location, with some airports experiencing fewer cancellations but still facing notable delays. For example, at Naples International Airport, nine outgoing flights and eight incoming flights were canceled, with an average delay of 40 minutes for departing flights. In Salerno, one incoming and one outgoing flight were canceled, along with one delayed departure among eight scheduled movements. The incident highlighted the vulnerability of air traffic management systems to technical failures, even as authorities worked to mitigate the effects and restore normal operations. As investigations continued into the cause of the data transmission issues, passengers and airlines alike braced for potential further disruptions until the system was fully restored.