Flights across New Zealand and Australia were disrupted on the 16th August after a major air traffic control outage closed parts of Oceania’s airspace.
The issue began at 4:30 p.m. when Airways New Zealand’s main oceanic air traffic control system failed. By 5:30 p.m., the system was restored and normal operations resumed.
During the outage, five flights were held in the air. Three of these were forced to return to New Zealand after circling for about 40 minutes, while two others continued to their destinations. Other flights were delayed or cancelled, and several aircraft were held on the ground in both countries.
Passengers reported confusion and delays at airports. Carl Taylor, a Kiwi passenger due to fly from the Gold Coast to Christchurch, said check-in for his Jetstar flight was stopped because of “technical issues.” He said it was unclear whether the flight would leave as planned.
The Civil Aviation Authority described the problem as a “technical fault” in the main Operational Control System. Officials said Oceania’s airspace is now open again but promised to continue monitoring the situation and investigate the cause of the outage.
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