Dutch ATC communication glitch halts flights at Schiphol

A breakdown in communications between Dutch air traffic controllers and aircraft halted flights and caused delays Aug. 15 at Amsterdam Schiphol airport—one of the busiest in Europe and KLM’s hub.

A glitch in the communication system used by LVNL—the Netherlands’ ATC system—occurred around noon local time. A backup system was put into operation immediately, but the airport operated at reduced capacity. ATC could communicate with aircraft, but decided to stop arrivals and departures temporarily.

Limited traffic started to move again after around an hour and gradually returned to normal, but with knock-on delays.

A Schiphol Group spokeswoman said she did not have exact figures on the number of flights affected.

An LVNL spokeswoman said the cause of the communications disruption was being investigated.