In a major disruption to air travel, Belgium’s air traffic control system experienced a complete computer meltdown today, grounding all flights at the country’s major airports, including Brussels, Antwerp, and Charleroi. The system failure, which was first detected at around 3:00 p.m. local time, forced immediate action to reroute all planes within Belgian airspace to neighboring countries, as the country’s control tower was rendered unable to coordinate air traffic.

Despite the severity of the situation, a backup system was activated to maintain safety measures and prevent accidents, though it has been confirmed that no flights are able to either take off or land at the affected airports. This has resulted in widespread chaos and confusion at the airports, with passengers facing delays, cancellations, and long wait times.

The outage is expected to continue for several hours as technicians work to restore the system. Authorities have advised travelers to monitor airline communications for updates on the status of their flights and any rerouting options.

As a precautionary measure, airspace over Belgium remains closed, and neighboring countries, including France, the Netherlands, and Germany, have been accommodating flights that would have typically passed through Belgian airspace. The incident is likely to cause ripple effects throughout the European airspace, with potential delays and rerouting at other hubs across the continent.

At this time, investigations are underway to determine the cause of the system failure. Aviation experts and officials are working to ensure that such an incident does not reoccur. While the situation remains fluid, Belgium’s airspace is expected to be reopened once the issues are fully resolved.

Source: Sudinfo