Flight delays have disrupted travel across Australia due to a technical glitch affecting the distribution of flight plans.

Last night, a significant IT outage hindered Airservices Australia—the organization overseeing the nation’s air traffic control—from automatically processing flight plans. This forced staff to manually enter crucial details, leading to substantial delays in cities such as Melbourne, Perth, and Adelaide.

According to Airservices Australia, the problem originated at the Melbourne Air Traffic Service Centre, which manages the airspace for the southern half of the country.

A spokesperson from Airservices Australia explained, “Our main operational capability impacted is the manual entry of flight plans in specific situations.”

Virgin Australia acknowledged the disruption, stating there are “multiple delays across our network.”

Virgin Australia said there were “multiple delays across our network”.

“The issue is preventing all Australian airlines from lodging or receiving approved flight plans required for take-off,” Virgin said.

“As a result, we are experiencing multiple delays across our network. We appreciate the patience of all travellers as we work through a solution, and we will provide an update once more information is known.”

Airservices Australia said only some of its communication systems were being impacted.

“Safety, air traffic control and communication between air traffic controllers and aircraft are unaffected,” it said.

“To maintain safety while we work to rectify the issue, traffic management measures have been implemented at Melbourne, Perth, and Adelaide Airports.”

It’s understand air traffic controllers were using mobile phones to communicate with each other but could still use normal radio to communicate with planes.

Airservices Australia said “some departures may be delayed”.

“Passengers are encouraged to check with their airlines,” it said.