Travel Chaos Hits European Hotspot as Airport Cancellations Soar Over 100 Flights After Control Tower Malfunction

A well-known European airport has descended into disorder following the collapse of a control tower, resulting in the cancelation of 130 flights.

Many travelers have found themselves searching for different ways to reach their destinations following a disruption at Paris Orly Airport, an airport that serves more than 30 million passengers annually due to issues with their air traffic control system, according to authorities.

A spokesman for Aeroports de Paris, which operates the French capital's second busiest airport, said about 40 percent of the day's departures and arrivals had been called off.

People planning trips to locations such as Spain , Italy , Austria and Germany have found themselves stuck due to cancelled flights, while some experienced long waits.

France The DGAC civil aviation authority attributed the substantial decrease in flight operations to a malfunction within the air traffic control system that occurred at the Orly tower earlier this afternoon.

In the meantime, an aviation insider disclosed that the disorder at the travel center was triggered by a malfunctioning radar system.

The airport spokesman said about half of the 130 cancelled flights were departures, while half had been incoming flights.

Airlines experienced severe disruptions for flights throughout France as well as numerous locations across Europe and North Africa.

The DGAC couldn't verify if services would resume as usual on Monday.

Amid the mayhem and stood near a line of suitcases, Agnes Zilouri, 46, tried desperately to find a seat for her 86-year-old mother and six year old son after her flight had been cancelled.

The family had been meant to take a flight to Oujda in Morocco on Sunday evening to go to a funeral.

Speaking on the devastation of the chaos, Ms Zilouri added: 'The flight is cancelled. Fortunately I am with my mother'.

Meanwhile, another frustrated passenger took to X to share their dismay at their flight cancellation from Dublin to Paris, stating: 'My 19:45 flight to Orly from Dublin was cancelled. It's been almost two hours, and still no email that informs me of a cancellation. It's ridiculous to have to find out right as I walk into the airport.'

Acting as a secondary gateway for both domestic and international air traffic, Orly Airport managed around 33 million travelers in the previous year, which is roughly half the passenger volume of France’s primary hub, the Paris Charles de Gaulle (CDG) International airport.

Before CDG opened in 1974, Orly served as the primary airport for Paris.

The travel disruption occurred merely a week following an IT failure that caused significant turmoil for vacationers at London’s Stansted Airport. Up to 10,000 travelers might have missed their flights. on Saturday, May 17.

Visitors encountered 'complete chaos' and holdups following an IT malfunction around 2:30 am that ground everything to a halt.

Holidaymakers were forced to queue for hours through check-in, baggage and security, while Jet2 and Tui delayed departures to wait for passengers to reach the gate.

Some had to join extremely long lines extending beyond the airport terminal just to get inside the building.

At the time, one furious passenger wrote on X: 'Some people are queuing outside just to get inside the airport terminal. Some have given up and gone home as they have missed their flights.'

Paris Orly Airport was contacted for comment.

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