The US-American Memphis Airport had to cancel all flights on Friday because of technical problems in the area of ​​the water supply. No flight operations may be carried out without water, which could be needed in the event of a fire in particular.

Only passenger flights are affected, because the extremely weak water pressure and the supplies of the fire brigade should be sufficient for the cargo connections. The responsible airport authority confirmed the partial closure of the airport and pointed out that flights with passengers without a reliable water supply are not allowed. There is no alternative but to temporarily only allow cargo flights.

Memphis Airport has been suffering from an enormously capricious fresh water supply for a few days. The pressure should in some cases be so low that there is not enough available for the fire brigade and the automatic extinguishing systems (e.g. sprinklers) and, on top of that, proper functioning can no longer be guaranteed. If necessary, local emergency reserves are used for cargo flights.