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| Flight delays at Dublin airport | |
| (9 minutes later) | |
| Dublin International Airport is operating at half its usual capacity because of a problem with its radar system. | Dublin International Airport is operating at half its usual capacity because of a problem with its radar system. |
| The airport is handling 12 departures and 12 arrivals an hour. | The airport is handling 12 departures and 12 arrivals an hour. |
| Earlier, all flights in and out of the airport were stopped. A similar problem a number of weeks ago led to major delays. | Earlier, all flights in and out of the airport were stopped. A similar problem a number of weeks ago led to major delays. |
| The Irish Aviation Authority took the decision after suffering chronic breakdowns of their radar screens. | The Irish Aviation Authority took the decision after suffering chronic breakdowns of their radar screens. |
| The airport was shut down at about 1400 BST on Wednesday because air traffic controllers could not see the codes used to label incoming aircraft. | The airport was shut down at about 1400 BST on Wednesday because air traffic controllers could not see the codes used to label incoming aircraft. |
| The decision has forced dozens of flights to be grounded, or diverted to other Irish airports. | The decision has forced dozens of flights to be grounded, or diverted to other Irish airports. |
| A Ryanair spokesman said the airport should have had a contingency plan in place. | A Ryanair spokesman said the airport should have had a contingency plan in place. |
| "The issues with radar equipment at Dublin have been known for some weeks and it is unacceptable that there is no contingency or back up plan," he said. | "The issues with radar equipment at Dublin have been known for some weeks and it is unacceptable that there is no contingency or back up plan," he said. |
| "The IAA needs to explain to passenger why flights are being delayed today by up to 5 hours, with many more cancelled." | "The IAA needs to explain to passenger why flights are being delayed today by up to 5 hours, with many more cancelled." |
| IAA spokeswoman Lilian Cassin said the fault was first reported at 1145 BST on Wednesday and it was fully functioning 10 minutes later, but the system failed a second time. | IAA spokeswoman Lilian Cassin said the fault was first reported at 1145 BST on Wednesday and it was fully functioning 10 minutes later, but the system failed a second time. |
| "When the fault happened a second time at 1330 BST, we didn't have the confidence to continue," she said. | "When the fault happened a second time at 1330 BST, we didn't have the confidence to continue," she said. |
| "Safety is our overriding concern and in the interest of safety we shut down the system from 1445 BST. | "Safety is our overriding concern and in the interest of safety we shut down the system from 1445 BST. |
| "We hope to have it back at 1500 BST but that will be reviewed." | "We hope to have it back at 1500 BST but that will be reviewed." |
| Ms Cassin said air traffic controllers have experienced similar problems over the last four to five weeks, but that Wednesday's malfunction was the longest period the code system had failed. | Ms Cassin said air traffic controllers have experienced similar problems over the last four to five weeks, but that Wednesday's malfunction was the longest period the code system had failed. |
| She revealed that IAA engineers were working on site, alongside a team from Thales - the French company which supplied the system - and Hewlett-Packard. | She revealed that IAA engineers were working on site, alongside a team from Thales - the French company which supplied the system - and Hewlett-Packard. |
| "Engineers haven't been able to exactly pinpoint what the problem is," she added. | "Engineers haven't been able to exactly pinpoint what the problem is," she added. |
| "We want to be satisfied ourselves before we go back to operating." | "We want to be satisfied ourselves before we go back to operating." |
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