New Zealand had to ground all flights after radar failure

New Zealand had to ground all flights after a radar failure on Tuesday — (Image credit: iStock)

For two hours on Tuesday afternoon, no flights were allowed to take off from New Zealand airports, due to a radar failure at Airways New Zealand. "At no point was the safety of any airport operations compromised," the aviation navigation agency said in a statement. During the blackout, from 2:48 p.m. to about 4:40 p.m. local time, incoming airplanes were allowed to land "using visual manual separation," with radio contact from the air control towers.

The two hours of no departing flights left New Zealand with a backlog, which Airways New Zealand said would be addressed by letting international flights take off first, followed by large domestic jets, and finally smaller domestic flights.

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.