Paris, May 18 (AP) France's civil aviation authority asked airlines to reduce flights by 40 per cent at Paris-Orly airport on Sunday evening after air traffic control systems suffered a breakdown.

The authority, known as DGAC, said in a statement that some “regulation” was needed involving a significant reduction in the number of flights. The statement didn't provide details on the cause of the breakdown.

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DGAC said its teams “are fully mobilised to restore normal operations as soon as possible”.

Paris-Orly airport serves domestic and international flights, including to most European countries and the US.

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Flights to Spain, Denmark, Saudi Arabia, Italy, Germany, Austria, the Netherlands, Ireland and several French cities were cancelled on Sunday while many others were delayed.

More than 33 million passengers travelled through Paris-Orly airport last year, about half the number at Paris-Charles-de-Gaulle, according to figures released by the operator Aeroport de Paris. (AP)

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)