All scheduled flights were prevented briefly from taking off in New Zealand on Tuesday after a radar fault struck.
Airways New Zealand, which manages air traffic control, grounded all commercial airlines at airports across the country.
The fault struck at 2.48pm and led to delays, with passengers sitting on planes on the tarmac.
A spokesman for the aviation authority said the fault was eventually rectified and services resumed about 4.20pm. A statement from Airways New Zealand said: “At no point was the safety of any airport operations compromised.”
Delays were expected to continue throughout the afternoon.
Earlier, after the grounding order was put out, a spokesman said: “There has been a radar failure that has occurred at 2.48pm [02.48 GMT] this afternoon; we are working on the issue at the moment.
“The impact is that all aircraft have been held on the ground. There are no aircraft taking off across the country. The aircraft that are in the air have been cleared to land.”
At 2.48pm today 23/6/15 we experienced a radar failure. We are working on the issue, and will provide an update.
— Airways New Zealand (@AirwaysNZ) June 23, 2015
rtpt We are holding all aircraft on the ground, however those in the air will be cleared to land.
— Airways New Zealand (@AirwaysNZ) June 23, 2015
We will provide an update on the radar fault once we've determined the cause of the issue. Flights are being grounded at the moment.
— Airways New Zealand (@AirwaysNZ) June 23, 2015
