LAST UPDATE | 3 Oct 2018

THE IRISH AVIATION Authority has said a systems crash that caused the closure of part of Irish airspace last night is most likely a “simple software issue”.

The body has launched an investigation into the issue and in a statement said the fault does not appear to have been an attack on its systems. 

There is nothing to suggest hacking or cyber crime was involved.

Air travel over much of Ireland was suspended for around two hours during a “systems failure”, causing flights to and from Shannon and Cork airports to be disrupted. 

Irish airspace reopened at around 10.30pm when a back-up system was deployed to allow take off and landings to resume at Cork and Shannon airports.

Flights from both airports are operating as normal this morning, while flights to and from Dublin Airport – which operates via an independent system – were not affected.

In a statement, the IAA said an investigation into the issue was ongoing and that the operation of services was continuing via back-up systems.

The authority also said that safety was its main priority, and that air traffic was restricted while the issue was being investigated in accordance with normal procedures.

Cork Airport and Shannon said earlier that all flights coming into the airspace of the west and south of Ireland were impacted, with long delays faced by some.

After the suspension was lifted, many flights began to arrive at Shannon and Cork.

Air traffic control remains on the back-up system with the IAA saying all flights are operating normally.