Amsterdam airport closed: All flights to and from Schiphol suspended as air traffic control 'investigates matter'
Airport says delays may last for 'some time' after technical fault grounds all planes for an hour
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Your support makes all the difference.Amsterdam's Schiphol Airport was forced to suspend all flights for around an hour due to an air traffic control problem.
A message posted on the airport's official Twitter page on Wednesday afternoon said there was “no incoming and outgoing flight traffic at our airport”.
“Air traffic control is investigating this matter,” the statement added: “We will keep you updated. Please check your current flight status on our website, our app or check your airline.”
The Netherlands' ANP news agency reported the issue was the result of a problem with air traffic control systems.
The agency cited airport and air traffic control sources saying the problem began shortly after 1pm.
Schiphol announced just after 2pm local time departures from the airport were resuming “slowly”, adding a “limited” number of incoming flights had been unable to land.
Planes that were cleared to land were able to do so using a backup system after a short delay.
Schiphol's website showed dozens of arrivals and departures as delayed and the airport has urged passengers to check the website for further updates.
The airport said the air traffic control system was “stable” by around 2.30pm, but warned it would take “some time” before services were running as scheduled again.
LVNL, the authority in charge of air traffic control within Dutch airspace, said it had launched an investigation into the cause of the issue.
Schiphol is the largest airport in The Netherlands and the third-busiest in Europe behind London Heathrow and Charles De Gaulle in Paris.
In June, an average of 1,500 aircraft either took off or landed at the airport each day, while some 6.5 million passengers passed through its gates.
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