Swiss air navigation service Skyguide has restored full capacity to Geneva airspace, more than two days after flooding disrupted operations an air traffic management control centre.
Skyguide says the flooding, following a heavy thunderstorm on 25 June, affected the facility’s data centre and, specifically, the cooling systems.
The risk of overheating air traffic control equipment prompted Skyguide to close Geneva airspace for 2h 30min, preventing any departures or arrivals in the area, before capacity was partially recovered, initially to 50% and then 70% the following day.
Skyguide says full capacity has been restored as of 28 June.
“Several measures have been taken to ensure that the air traffic control systems do not overheat and to guarantee the cooling of the control room,” it adds.
“Skyguide has acquired an additional external cooling system and a mobile diesel generator to support the existing, deteriorated generators. This ensures that the air traffic control systems can continue to function in the event of a power failure.”
But it acknowledges that these solutions are “temporary”.
“It will take some time before the damage caused by the water in the various premises has been fully repaired and normal automated exploitation can be resumed,” it states.
Disruption at the centre resulted in flight delays across several Geneva sectors, according to pan-European air navigation organisation Eurocontrol.
