There was no need to be in a hurry this Saturday. A computer failure affected border controls at the Paris airports of Roissy-Charles de Gaulle and Orly at midday, causing longer than usual waiting times for passengers. “A nationwide border police outage is currently affecting checkpoints departing from and arriving at Paris-CDG and Paris-Orly. An extension of the waiting time is to be expected”, tweeted Aéroports de Paris around noon.
It was not immediately known whether this outage also affected other airports or sectors. Images posted on social networks showed large queues of passengers waiting at Paris airport controls, treading water or sitting on the ground. Around 2 p.m., the computer system in question was working again, the Interior Ministry said.
Annoyed travelers
Coming from Martinique, a passenger claimed to have spent nearly two hours in the queue at Orly where “1,500 to 2,000 people” did not advance an inch. “It’s shameful, people are starting to freak out, especially parents with kids. No one from ADP (Aéroports de Paris) came to tell us anything! “, testified by telephone Anouk, who preferred to keep his name silent.
In general nervousness, the travelers then began to bang on the glass doors of the airlocks, she then reported. Border Police (PAF) officers then opened them and carried out passport checks manually to ease the congestion. “Everything is in place to make the situation as easy as possible for travellers. Water distributions are in place and officers have been deployed to answer questions from travellers,” an ADP spokesperson said.