Air Traffic Control Failure at Paris-Orly: 15% of Monday Flights Cancelled Amid Ongoing Disruption

Paris-Orly Airport will face a second day of major disruption on Monday, May 19, due to an unresolved air traffic control system failure.

Following a chaotic Sunday, flight operations at Paris-Orly are expected to remain heavily disrupted. France’s civil aviation authority (DGAC) has instructed airlines to cancel 15% of scheduled flights for Monday, as technical issues at the control tower persist. As of Sunday evening, the malfunction had not yet been fully resolved.

Persistent System Failure

The issue, which began on Sunday afternoon, forced the cancellation of approximately 130 flights, affecting both departures and arrivals. From 4 p.m. onward, 40% of flights were grounded until the airport’s 11:30 p.m. curfew. Some passengers were even asked to disembark after boarding.

In a statement released later that day, the DGAC acknowledged that while the situation was “showing signs of improvement,” air traffic regulation would need to be maintained. Additional delays are expected on Monday, and passengers are advised to contact their airlines for flight status updates.

Thousands of Passengers Affected

Orly Airport, which handled over 33 million passengers in 2024, is operating at reduced capacity. Numerous domestic and international routes—such as those to Toulouse, Palma, Tunis, and Madrid—have been either delayed or canceled. This unusually large-scale outage highlights the vulnerability of critical aviation infrastructure when faced with unexpected technical failures.