On Monday, travelers at several airports, including Paris Aéroports (Roissy-Charles de Gaulle and Orly), experienced longer waiting times at the border crossing due to a “national outage.” The outage lasted for three hours before returning to normal around 3 a.m., as reported by Paris Aéroports. The computer system used by the Border Police experienced a breakdown, affecting the Parafe airlocks upon departure and arrival at the airports. These airlocks enable automated screening of travelers entering and exiting the Schengen Area, leading to increased waiting times at departures and arrivals.
The Parafe system, which streamlines border crossing formalities in an automated manner, is used in several French airports, train stations, and ports. However, only Paris Aéroport communicated about the situation during the national outage. At the same time, air traffic was disrupted due to a national social movement, causing cancellations and delays throughout the day.
Travelers were advised to postpone their flights by the general directorate of civil aviation. The waiting time at border control was estimated to be an average of 40 minutes for an hour, causing inconvenience for many travelers who found themselves queueing up at border control. Despite these challenges, travelers were assured that the situation would return to normal as soon as possible.
However, not all airports communicated about the situation during this time, leading to confusion and frustration for many travelers who were unaware of any issues until they arrived at their destinations or points of departure. Overall, Monday’s events highlighted the importance of clear communication from authorities during disruptions or technical difficulties that affect travel plans.
