Washington: Hundreds of flights across the United States were grounded after the Federal Aviation Administration reported a computer glitch in its systems. The FAA system, which alerts pilots and other flight personnel about hazards or any changes to airport facility services and relevant procedures, was not processing updated information, the regulator’s website showed.
In an advisory, the FAA said its NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions) system had “failed”. There was no immediate estimate for when it would be back, the website showed, though NOTAMs issued before the outage was still visible. A NOTAM is a notice that has important information for personnel concerned with flight operations.
Over 1,200 flights were delayed within, into, or out of the United States as of January 11 at 6.31 am ET, flight tracking website FlightAware showed.
An advisory by US Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATSCC) said: “Technicians are currently working to restore the system and there is no estimate for restoration of the system at the times.”
In another update, FAA tweeted that it is still working to fully restore the Notice to Air Missions system following an outage. Some functions are beginning to come back on line, National Airspace System operations remain limited.
American Airlines in a statement said: “The Federal Aviation Administration is experiencing an outage with its NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions) system, which provides critical flight safety operation information. We are closely monitoring the situation, which impacts all airlines, and working with the FAA to minimize disruption to our operation and customers. We encourage customers to check aa.com for the latest flight information.”
