Geneva Airport was forced to close on [date not provided] due to a technical issue, causing severe disruption for thousands of passengers. The airport suspended all takeoffs and landings after an air traffic control radar failure, leading to widespread delays and diversions.
Inbound flights from several UK airports, including easyJet services from London Gatwick, Birmingham, and Manchester, were diverted to Basel and Lyon. Other flights, such as SAS from Copenhagen and Lufthansa from Frankfurt, returned to their departure points. Some departures to Amsterdam, Copenhagen, and Zurich were cancelled, while others faced delays of over an hour.
The airport gradually resumed operations, initially at 50% capacity until 11am, then increasing to 80%. The tracking service Flightradar24 reported average departure delays of 40 minutes, noting that the radar issue appeared to have been resolved.
Under EU passenger rights rules, travellers delayed by two hours or more may receive refreshments, while those with cancelled flights are entitled to re-routing and accommodation. However, cash compensation is not payable as the disruption was caused by air traffic control, not the airlines.
