Paris, France – Passengers on a flight from Paris to Corsica were stuck in the air for more than a quarter of an hour.
This happened after an air traffic controller fell asleep on the ground during his shift.
The French Civil Aviation Authority said that after the observer fell asleep on Monday, Air Corsica flight was forced to fly in a circle. The flight was heading from Paris Orly Airport. It was going to Ajaccio on the island of Corsica. Notably, the flight circled over the Mediterranean Sea for “18 minutes”.
This was confirmed by a report published by the newspaper “Kurs Matan”.
The authority added: “The intervention of the airport fire department at the control tower revealed that the air traffic controller was overcome by drowsiness in his position”.
After waking up the observer, the plane landed safely. This was according to the authority, which indicated that it had opened an investigation into the “unusual situation”.
Although the observer’s alcohol test result was negative, “the possibility of a penalty being imposed on him is under consideration”.
