A major disruption to Poland’s air traffic control system temporarily grounded departing flights across the country on Saturday morning, prompting emergency protocols and a swift government response. The fault occurred in the Polish Air Navigation Services Agency’s (PAŻP/PANSA) primary traffic management system, which was restored after necessary procedures were implemented. 

“The core air traffic management system has been reinstated. The issue was due to a technical fault, which was quickly resolved,” said PAŻP (PANSA) spokesperson Marcin Hadaj in an official statement.

During the outage, PAŻP operated on a backup system. Hadaj assured that the safety of aircraft in Polish airspace remained “at the highest possible level” throughout the disruption. While landings continued as normal, take-offs were suspended nationwide for over an hour, affecting airports in Warsaw, Gdańsk, and beyond. At Chopin Airport in Warsaw, flight operations resumed shortly after the issue was resolved, confirmed by airport spokesperson Anna Dermont.

At Gdańsk Lech Wałęsa Airport, spokesperson Agnieszka Michajłow reported that flight departures were restricted from around 10:30 a.m. Aircraft heading north to Scandinavia were allowed to depart, while flights to the south were limited to one every ten minutes, potentially causing delays.

The Ministry of the Interior and Administration (MSWiA) took immediate action. Minister Tomasz Siemoniak, who also oversees Poland’s intelligence services, activated appropriate security agencies in response to the incident. 

“Officers from the Internal Security Agency are collecting and analysing data to rule out potential sabotage,” announced ministry spokesperson Jacek Dobrzyński via X (formerly Twitter). 

He also urged calm and warned the public to be vigilant against disinformation and fake news during the investigation.

Source: PAP

Photo: @ChopinAirport

Tomasz Modrzejewski