Lufthansa IT Glitch: Germany's Air Traffic Control Diverts All Flights from Frankfurt

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Germany's air traffic control agency said Wednesday that it is diverting all flights away from the country's busiest airport, Frankfurt, after a problem with Lufthansa's computer systems caused major disruption at the German airline. Agency spokesman Robert Ertler said all plane parking spots in Frankfurt were full because passengers and crews are unable to board the airline's flights. "All incoming planes are being diverted to alternative airports" such as as Munich, Nuremberg and Duesseldorf, Ertler told The Associated Press.

Lufthansa Group, which also includes subsidiaries such as Swiss International Air Lines and Eurowings, confirmed that the IT outage was caused by construction works in the Frankfurt region. "This is causing flight delays and cancellations," the company said. "We regret the inconvenience this is causing our passengers."

German news agency dpa reported that all of Lufthansa's domestic flights were cancelled and passengers were urged to switch to alternative forms of travel, such as trains. Frankfurt Airport confirmed that technical problems at Lufthansa were causing "flight disruptions and cancellations."

"Please check the status of your flight before traveling to the airport and allow extra time for your journey," the airport said. "We also recommend that you check in as early as possible for your flight."