BRUSSELS—Thousands of passengers' flights were
canceled or were rerouted to other cities on Wednesday after a
power cut knocked out the air-traffic-control system in
Brussels.
An electrical failure caused the blackout Wednesday morning,
said Dominique Dehaene, spokesman for Belgocontrol, the Belgian
branch of Eurocontrol, which oversees air traffic in Europe. The
power cut prevented flights taking off and landing at all five main
Belgian airports, including the country's largest, Brussels
Airport, just outside the capital.
Brussels Airport said on Twitter that 32 flights had been
diverted to neighboring airports in Germany and the Netherlands and
147 had been canceled.
Airport authorities said some 20,000 people had been affected at
that point. Those included the Greek negotiating team flying to
Brussels for discussions on the country's bailout, Greek officials
confirmed.
Flights crossing Belgium at above 24,500 feet were unaffected by
the power cut because they are overseen from outside of Belgium,
Belgocontrol said.
By late afternoon Belgian authorities were restoring the
air-traffic-control system, allowing some flights to take off and
land at Brussels Airport. Delays were expected throughout the
day.
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