IT Outage Hits Airports In Germany, Passengers Stranded

Berlin: A major IT outage has been reported at airports across Germany causing significant operational disruptions and affecting federal police systems. Reports suggested that the outage has resulted in lengthy delays for passengers arriving from outside the Schengen zone. The outage has left passengers waiting for at least two hours at the airport.

According to reports, the IT issue has forced police to conduct security checks manually, leading to increased waiting times at major airports like Frankfurt and Dusseldorf. As per information, the passengers at Dusseldorf Airport have been waiting for at least two hours, while those at Frankfurt Airport are also facing major delays.

As per the reports, a spokesperson for Dusseldorf Airport confirmed the delays, stating, "At present, entry and exit are only possible with long delays for non-Schengen regions." Berlin Airport also reported longer waiting times for passengers arriving from outside the Schengen area.

However, not all airports are affected equally as the Munich Airport reported no big queues, while Hamburg Airport stated that the outage has had no impact on air traffic.

The cause of the IT outage is currently unknown. 

According to the airport officials, both the main system and the backup systems have been affected and it is not known how long it will take to fix. It is currently not possible to enter Germany from outside the Schengen area, the airport officials reportedly stated.

EU destinations and destinations in the Schengen area are not affected. The police are having to carry out all of the checks manually, local reports have stated.

There are 'increasing waiting times and backlogs' and all major airports nationwide are affected, according to the German Press Agency. Meanwhile, a Berlin airport spokesperson said that longer waiting times when entering the county from outside the Schengen area, but there is no halt on arrivals.

At Munich Airport, however, there are currently no long queues, a Federal Police spokesperson stated. The Hamburg Airport officials also said, “We have no queues here and the outage currently has no impact on air traffic.”

Heiko Teggatz, chairman of the Federal Police Union, told the German newspaper, “It was only a matter of time before something like today happened. It is now a threat to the entire European Schengen system.”

He also told how for three years, the authority has lacked the money to modernise its IT infrastructure. 
 

Further details regarding the IT outage is being awaited.