The cause of repeated black-outs of Milan Linate airport's air traffic control, which resulted in considerable traffic disruption in northern Italy on 6 and 7 October, was still unknown late last week.
Italian air navigation service provider Enav was forced to reduce traffic at Linate and its environs by 50%, affecting several other airports, with 149 flights cancelled and average delays of 90min as a result in the national network.
Three power supply failures occurred, two on 6 October and one the next day, lasting up to 30min. Airlines are claiming €20 million ($24.5 million) damages for delays and cancelled flights.
An emergency power supply unit was shipped from Bologna to Milan, to protect the airport's ATC system from further power cuts. Enav investigators say that they cannot understand why the back-up systems did not work, especially as a nationwide black-out occurred on 28 September 2003.
Source: Flight International
