Shannon and Cork airports hit by 'significant' failure Published duration 2 October 2018

image copyright RTÉ image caption Flights into and out of Shannon and Cork airports were affected

Irish airspace has been reopened after a radar failure in the west of Ireland led to flight restrictions.

Flights at Cork and Shannon airports were affected.

The Irish Aviation Authority (IAA) said there was a technical issue with Shannon Air Traffic Control system.

"Safety is the IAA's main priority and, in accordance with normal procedure, the IAA restricted air traffic while the issue was being investigation," the IAA said in a statement.

It said it had now moved to back-up systems and flight restrictions had been lifted.

Dublin was not affected due to its proximity to UK airspace.

Shannon Airport said on Twitter that Air Traffic Control at Ballycasey, Shannon was "experiencing issues with their flight radar".

Cork Airport described it as a "significant systems failure" resulting in a "zero flow rate".

Both airports also said flights on Wednesday morning could be affected because planes and crew would be "out of position".

An investigation into what went wrong is ongoing.