WASHINGTON, Jan 11: All flights across the US were grounded or delayed on Wednesday
early morning due to a federal computer outage. The glitch was in a system that
checks security of flight routes.
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the aviation regulator, said
it had "ordered airlines to pause all domestic departures until 9 am Eastern
Time (ET) (7:30 pm Wednesday IST) to allow the agency to validate the integrity
of flight and safety information."
The FAA said its NOTAM had failed. NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions) provides
information about flight operations to workers, including security clearance,
especially to pilots. "The operations across the National Airspace System are
affected," the FAA sated.
NBC News reported that all flights were grounded. More than 2,500 flights within,
into and out of the US were delayed as of around 8 am Wednesday morning, according
to online flight tracker FlightAware. Nearly 250 flights were listed as cancelled.
A late report said 3,700 flights were grounded and over 550 flights cancelled.
There were 21,000 departures scheduled for the day.
White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said President Joe Biden was
briefed on the situation. There is no indication of cyber attack "at this point",
she said. However, the Department of Transportation has been directed to conduct
an investigation.
The United Airlines has delayed all domestic operations until 10 am. Southwest
Airlines also said it as affected.
Some incoming international flights have also been affected.
Flight delays can persist throughout the day.
Air France said its flights to and from the US were not affected.
Gatwick airport in London and Frankfurt airport in Germany too said their flights
to and from the US are not affected.
