Flights are being delayed at multiple locations across the United States after a computer outage at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).
At 7am eastern time (noon GMT) there were more than 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 US East Coast and airlines said that they are aware of the situation and beginning to suspend flights.
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
Advertisement
The agency said 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 agency said that some functions are beginning to come back on line, but that “National Airspace System operations remain limited”.
United Airlines said that it had temporarily delayed all domestic flights and would issue an update once it learned more from the FAA.
Cleared Update No. 2 for all stakeholders: ⁰⁰The FAA is still working to fully restore the Notice to Air Missions system following an outage. ⁰⁰While some functions are beginning to come back on line, National Airspace System operations remain limited.
Advertisement— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) January 11, 2023
The FAA is working to restore what is known as the Notice to Air Missions System.
The system 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.
The agency said that it would provide frequent updates as it makes progress.
