Flights are being delayed at multiple locations across the United States after a computer outage at the Federal Aviation Administration.
Just before 7 a.m. Eastern, there were nearly 1,200 delayed flights within, into or out of the United States, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.
Most delays were concentrated along the East Coast.
The agency said in a tweet that it was working on restoring its Notice to Air Missions System.
“We are performing final validation checks and reloading the system now,” the FAA said. “Operations across the National Airspace System are affected.”
The FAA is working to restore what is known as the Notice to Air Missions System.
NOTAMs used to be available through a hotline but that was phased out with the internet. The alerts span from mundane information about construction at airports to urgent flight restrictions or broken equipment.
There is a potential for widespread disruption because of the outage. All aircraft are required to route through the system, including commercial and military flights.
CVG Airport says they are “aware of potential delays” Wednesday morning, citing the FAA system issue, and urge travelers to check with their airlines for real-time updates on flight status updates.
The FAA is working to restore its Notice to Air Missions System. We are performing final validation checks and reloading the system now.
Operations across the National Airspace System are affected.
We will provide frequent updates as we make progress.
— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) January 11, 2023
Worth noting that this will be broader than just commercial airlines. All users of the airspace system are required to check Morand before flight. This will affect the military, civilian drone pilots, etc.
The agency said that it would provide frequent updates as it made progress.
Update 8:50 am ET: The FAA has lifted the national groundstop as systems slowly comeback online. Passengers should expect delays and check with their carriers for updates. See their tweet below:
Update 5: Normal air traffic operations are resuming gradually across the U.S. following an overnight outage to the Notice to Air Missions system that provides safety info to flight crews. The ground stop has been lifted.
We continue to look into the cause of the initial problem
— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) January 11, 2023
This is a breaking news story.
Alex Haynes and Unmuted News contributed to this report.
