Today, Friday 16 October, air traffic was reduced throughout Italy due to a series of anomalies in data transmission. This was confirmed directly by ENAV, the National Agency for Flight Assistance, which informed that during this night “anomalies were found on the geographical data transmission network in support of air traffic control services throughout the entire national territory”. According to the latest information, air traffic management capacity is initially reduced by around 50%.
Around 1.00 pm, ENAV announced that thanks to the use of the secondary satellite network, the operational capacity for managing flights in the national airspace has reached 75%, constantly increasing compared to the previous hours.
The causes of the problem, however, have not yet been made known: ENAV, however, is carrying out technical checks that have identified the origin of the anomalies, working with its suppliers (starting with TIM, which manages the data network) to restore full operation of the systems.
In any case, it has been clearly excluded that the problems are attributable to malicious activities: therefore, no hacker attacks, nor sabotage attempts against national air traffic control systems.
Until 06:00 this morning, ENAV guaranteed the regular management of air traffic, without any reduction in operational capacity, thanks to the activation of the foreseen contingency systems.
However, given the progressive increase in air traffic and the persistence of anomalies, after 06:00 ENAV chose to introduce flow regulation measures, with a temporary reduction in the management capacity of aircraft in Italian airspace. The objective, in fact, is to continue to guarantee maximum safety of operations.
At the moment, cancellations and delays of at least 180 minutes have been recorded in the main Italian airports such as Milan Malpensa, Orio al Serio in Bergamo, Turin-Caselle, Fiumicino and Ciampino. At Malpensa, in particular, the Lombardy Airports Association confirmed that “there are no take-offs in progress, but only intercontinental arrivals”.
Passengers are therefore advised to check the status of their flight with the relevant airline.
Among other things, a strike by easyJet cabin crew is also planned for today 16 October until 11.59pm. ENAC (National Civil Aviation Authority) has published the list of guaranteed flights on its website, available at this link.
Meanwhile, the NATO nuclear exercise is underway in Italy these days Steadfast Noon, which also involves Italian airspace. The program is concentrated in four days: 13 October, 14 October, 16 October and 20 October, with the airspace above the military bases of Ghedi (Brescia), Aviano (Pordenone), Amendola (Foggia) and Gioia del Colle (Bari) which must be considered as a temporarily reserved area during the exercise. The anomalies, therefore, could potentially impact the exercise activities of the Atlantic Alliance.
