Skyguide, the air traffic controller firm responsible for Geneva Airport (GVA) in Switzerland, has announced a reduction in capacity for approaches due to multiple malfunctions in their radar system. On June 2, 2025, the company revealed that capacity would be decreased by 20% for the day while they work on implementing a solution to the problem.
According to a spokesperson for Skyguide, the company has experienced a total of seven malfunctions in their radar system, resulting in individual work stations losing radar images for a few seconds. The majority of these occurrences have taken place in Geneva, but the company assures that the safety of air traffic was not compromised at any point.
In response to the issue, measures have already been taken to address the problem, and an update of the affected systems is scheduled to be carried out in the coming days, with Geneva Airport being the first priority, followed by Zurich Airport (ZRH). A task force has been established to manage the situation and is continuously monitoring and analyzing the progress. At this time, there are no plans to reduce capacity at ZRH.
The spokesperson for Skyguide also acknowledged the inconvenience this security measure may cause for passengers and customers. However, ensuring the safety of air traffic is the company’s top priority.
Radar malfunctions at airports have been a topic of concern in recent weeks, as evidenced by the flight restrictions imposed on Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR) due to outages at the Philadelphia Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON). In response to the first outage on April 28, 2025, US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was taking action by adding three new high-bandwidth telecommunications connections between the New York-based STARS and the Philadelphia TRACON. The agency also deployed a temporary backup system to the Philadelphia TRACON, which will provide redundancy during the switch to a more reliable fiberoptic network.
In regards to the three system outages, Duffy stated, “The most serious of these outages lasted approximately 30 seconds. The STARS displays took approximately 60 seconds to reboot and come back online. The outage was 30 seconds, but then the displays took another minute to boot – that’s where you get 30 and 90 seconds, but the telecom was out for 30 seconds.
In conclusion, Skyguide is actively working to resolve the radar malfunctions at Geneva Airport and apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause for passengers and customers. The company remains committed to ensuring the safety of air traffic and will continue to monitor and address any issues that may arise.