Posted on July 09, 2008 by Fiona Hilliard

Ireland car hire customers jetting into Dublin Airport are in for long delays this afternoon, following a serious malfunction of the airport’s radar system.

According to a spokeswoman for the Irish Aviation Authority (IAA), the system had to be completely shut down and would not be up and running until after 3pm.

Siobhan Moore, spokeswoman for Dublin Airport said a small number of flights were departing “albeit on a limited basis.”

Earlier today, flights into the airport were limited to 14 per hour, 11 less than the normal maximum limit of 25 but the system was later declared unstable and a decision was taken to shut the system down entirely.

Affected customers are advised to contact their airline before arriving at the airport.