A flight from
Paris to Corsica was forced to circle for nearly an hour before landing early
Tuesday after the sole air traffic controller on duty at Ajaccio Napoléon
Bonaparte Airport reportedly fell asleep.
The incident
occurred shortly before midnight on September 16, when an Air Corsica Airbus
A320 arriving from Paris Orly Airport was unable to make contact with the
control tower. According to People,
repeated radio calls from the aircraft went unanswered and the runway lights
remained off.
Passengers said
the captain reached out to the airport fire brigade for assistance. “The
captain then contacted the airport fire department to understand the
situation,” one traveler told local outlet Corse
Matin. “They were dispatched to the scene but found no response from the
tower before alerting the police.”
The aircraft
continued to circle above the Gulf of Ajaccio while the pilot kept passengers
informed of their status, noting that the flight could be diverted to Bastia if
the situation was not resolved. “We did a little sightseeing,” the pilot quipped.
“At no point was there any panic, everyone remained calm.” He added, “In my
decades of experience, I’ve never had to deal with a situation like this.”
Back on the
ground, emergency personnel ran into a snag when they tried to reach the unresponsive
air traffic controller. Security locks on the doors proved a challenge, but
they were eventually able to climb the tower’s stairs and gain entry to the
control room, where they found the controller napping at his desk.
After being
woken, he activated the runway lights, allowing the Airbus to land safely. The
incident prompted officials to screen the controller in question for drugs and
alcohol, but the tests produced negative results.
No injuries were
reported, and passengers ultimately touched down safely at 12:35 a.m.—about 78
minutes behind schedule, flight-tracking data from Flight
Aware showed.
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