IT systems used by Germany’s federal police at the country’s airports were experiencing major issues on Friday, according to a German tabloid Picture Informed.
A spokesperson for Frankfurt Airport confirmed the report to Reuters news agency, saying: “There is currently a nationwide IT disruption,” adding that the cause was still unknown.
Picture A Federal Police spokesperson was later quoted as saying that the problem had been fixed after several hours and that the Federal Police’s system was once again fully functioning.
IT outage leads to long queues
According to multiple reports, this issue has resulted in travelers currently facing long queues trying to enter the country.
Officers currently have to carry out passport and visa checks manually, which has “increased waiting times and backlogs”, a federal police spokesperson said.
According to the spokesperson, flights from within Europe’s visa-free Schengen zone are facing fewer problems.
Public news broadcaster WDR reported that the problem was affecting travelers coming to Germany from non-Schengen countries, in some cases causing passengers to stay on the plane.
Delays reported in Düsseldorf, Berlin and Frankfurt
A spokesperson for Düsseldorf Airport confirmed that the airport was experiencing similar problems.
“We can confirm that there has been a disruption at border controls for flights to and from the non-Schengen area from around 2pm (1300 GMT) today,” he said. He said, water is being provided to the passengers.
Frankfurt Airport, Germany’s busiest hub, said its flight schedule was currently unaffected by the problem, but entry into Germany could be delayed for some people.
A spokesperson for Berlin-Brandenburg Airport said that although they were experiencing delays, there were no orders to let people in or stop planes from landing.
ftm/ab (dpa, Reuters)
