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FAA Computer Glitch Snarls Air Travel In Eastern U.S.

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The New York Times

Published: August 27, 2008

WASHINGTON - Hundreds of commercial airline flights were delayed across the Eastern half of the United States on Tuesday in what the Federal Aviation Administration said was an unprecedented glitch in the federal computer system that processes flight plans.

Computer problems at an FAA center outside Atlanta caused substantial delays at airports, including those in Boston, Atlanta and Chicago.
Tampa International Airport reported about 24 arrivals and 20 departures delayed late Tuesday afternoon. Two departures were canceled.

In addition to the technology problem, bad weather in the Northeast also contributed to flight delays.

The trouble, which developed about 1:25 p.m., was a failure of a processing system that handles flight plans filed by airlines before their aircraft take off.

The plans include information such as departure and arrival points, the type of aircraft, the route, the name of the pilot and the number of people on board.

Airplanes were unable to take off because their flight plans hadn't been processed, creating ground congestion that delayed incoming flights.

At one point, at least 40 flights backed up at Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport.

Others hit with heavy delays included O'Hare International and Midway International airports at Chicago, Washington Dulles International and Ronald Reagan Washington National airports in Washington, D.C., and Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport just south of Baltimore.

The slowdown could result in flight cancellations or delays this morning as the major airlines work to clear the backlog. American Airlines spokeswoman Andrea Huguely advised passengers to check their flight status before leaving for the airport.
FAA officials said tower operators remained in contact with flight crews and kept planes safely separated.

"It's not a safety issue," FAA spokeswoman Tammy Jones said.

As a result of the failure, the agency shifted the processing to a backup system in Salt Lake City, which generally shares the processing load with the Atlanta center, and airlines were told that some flight plans would have to be refiled before airplanes could leave the ground.

The problem was "pretty much resolved" by early evening, said an FAA spokeswoman, Diane Spitaliere.

Though the Atlanta center remained out of service on Tuesday night, Spitaliere said, the Salt Lake City facility was able to handle the full load.

An agency spokesman, Paul Takemoto, emphasized that passengers' safety had not been affected, since the trouble did not compromise the agency's ability to track flights in the air.

The FAA said it could not estimate how many flights had been involved, but Spitaliere said they most likely included some arriving from and departing for overseas locations.

For several hours during the afternoon, officials placed holds on arriving traffic at Boston's Logan International Airport and Hartsfield.

Planes bound for both were told to wait at their departure points, according to an FAA Web site that tracks airport delays.

The holds were later lifted, but flights into both airports remained delayed into Tuesday evening.

In Chicago, flights from Midway were delayed as much as one hour 45 minutes, the agency's Web site said. Delays at O'Hare averaged about 30 minutes.

Baltimore-Washington International Airport and Charlotte Douglas International Airport in North Carolina also experienced delays of an hour or more during the afternoon, the FAA said.

There were delays as well at airports in the New York area, though these were largely because of weather and wind conditions.

The trouble coincided with the winding down of the busy summer travel season. Generally, about 5,000 aircraft are in the skies over the United States at any given time on an average summer weekday.

Tribune reporter Ted Jackovics contributed to this report.

Information from McClatchy-Tribune also was used. Information from McClatchy-Tribune also was used.

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