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Big disruptions at Orly Airport after an air traffic control failure

undefined undefined 19 mai 2025 undefined 12h00

The Editor

© Shutterstock - Markus Mainka

The disruption continues at Orly Airport: after the cancellation of 40% of flights on Sunday, management is urging airlines to cancel several dozens more this Monday. 

Today is not the day that Orly's traffic will return to normal. The major outage affecting the airport south of Paris since Sunday afternoon hasn't been resolved yet: last night, the General Directorate of Civil Aviation (DGAC) asked airlines to cancel 15% of their flights this Monday, anticipating continued disruptions. “The situation is improving, states the DGAC, while 40% of planes were unable to take off or land on Sunday, but still requires the maintenance of air traffic regulation. ”


A Particularly Chaotic Radar Failure 

It's 4 PM on Sunday, May 18, when what some are calling a " radar failure ," more accurately described as a  malfunction in the air traffic control system at Paris-Orly , is detected. Out of 330 planes that are supposed to take off and land at the airport, only 130 will make it to the runway before the curfew at 11:30 PM. The situation is twofold: by Sunday evening, the problem is "not fixed ," a source from the airport told AFP. Therefore, 15% of flights will need to be canceled today, as strongly suggested by the DGAC to the airlines. 


23 canceled flights and delays 

Fewer cancellations, in practice. The Paris Airport Information website indicates that 23 flights will be « canceled » this Monday out of 328 departing from Orly, with 21 arrivals canceled from 332 - a total of 44 out of 660, half of what was initially feared. On its X (formerly Twitter) account, Paris Airports also warns that « some delays  are to be expected » at the southern Paris airport. « Please check with your airline for more information », they advise. In detail, 91 flights are experiencing delays - 12 at departure and 79 at arrival. The DGAC teams say they are « fully engaged in restoring normal operations as quickly as possible».