Silence for slain air controller

Planes at Zurich were delayed for up to half an hour

Air traffic controllers held brief stoppages across Europe to honour a colleague who was stabbed to death.

Planes were delayed for up to 30 minutes at Switzerland's Zurich International Airport, near where Danish-born Peter Nielsen died.

The stoppage came as Mr Nielsen was buried in his home town of Vinderoed north of Copenhagen.

A man who lost his family in a mid-air collision when the victim was on duty is under arrest for his murder.

Viktor Kaloyev, 48, was moved to a psychiatric hospital in Switzerland earlier this week amid fears that he was suicidal.

Swiss police say he denies the killing, but that he is unable to refute evidence against him and is still under investigation.

Minute's silence

Take-offs from Zurich and Geneva were suspended at 1300 local time (1200 GMT), as Mr Nielsen's funeral service began.

Mr Kaloyev lost his wife and children

Swiss controllers were quoted as saying their action was "solely to honour the life and memory of our colleague and of the victims of the Ueberlingen tragedy".

They added that care was taken to ensure the stoppage would not compromise safety.

Staff in Germany, Spain, Denmark and several other European countries - as well as employees of the 31-nation Eurocontrol co-ordinating body in the Dutch city of Maastricht - observed a minute's radio silence.

Mr Nielsen was stabbed to death in front of his wife at their home last week.

Mr Kaloyev was reportedly arrested at a nearby hotel the next day.

Children killed

The former controller was in charge of traffic over Lake Constance late on 1 July 2002 when the incident happened.

Most of those killed in the air crash were Russian schoolchildren

The collision, in which Mr Kaloyev lost his wife, son and daughter, involved a charter flight carrying more than 50 Russian children and a DHL cargo jet.

A preliminary report into the accident found that the controller told the pilot of the Russian plane to descend when its onboard collision warning equipment was telling it to climb.

It was also revealed that only one controller had been on duty when the collision happened. His partner had been on a break.

The full report into the collision by the German Air Accident Investigation Bureau has not yet been published.