Lightning at Brest airport: flights cancelled until Sunday evening

Europe 1 with AFP / Photo credit: MARCEL MOCHET / AFP 15:55 p.m., December 31, 2023

All flights are cancelled at Brest airport until Sunday evening after the control tower was struck by lightning, the airport said on its website. "Brest airport was very badly hit following the lightning strike of the control tower last night (Saturday) in particular, despite its protections. Departing and arriving flights are cancelled until midnight," according to information posted on the website. About fifteen flights were scheduled on Sunday, departing or arriving. The resumption of flights on Monday morning is "not guaranteed at this stage", the Finistère prefecture said in a statement.

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"Brest Bretagne airport and the Air Navigation Services are looking for all solutions that could allow the resumption of traffic in complete safety and regret the inconvenience caused," the airport's website also reads.

Strong gale

The equipment invites "passengers to contact their airlines to find out the status of their flights", specifying that "all flight arrival and departure information is updated in real time" on its website: www.brest.aeroport.bzh.

The three departments of the tip of Brittany - Côtes d'Armor, Finistère and Morbihan - had been placed on orange alert the night from Saturday to Sunday by Météo France due to a strong gale from the tip of La Hague to the Spanish border. These three departments are now placed on yellow alert, like a large part of the metropolitan area.

According to the prefecture of Finistère, "the windy passage that occurred" during the night of Saturday to Sunday "caused very strong gusts of wind, up to 129 km/h on the heights of the Monts d'Arrée and up to 134 km/h on the exposed capes. Lightning strikes were also recorded, causing three fires in controlled homes", and therefore affecting the control tower of Brest airport.