Computer Glitch Delays Air Travel

The FAA says a  computer glitch that was causing flight delays and cancellations on Thursday morning has been fixed. An FAA spokesman told Good Day New York that airport officials were forced to manually file flight plans and fax them in to a central location.  Significant delays were reported at all airports across the New York region.

FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said she didn't know how many flights were affected.  The air traffic controllers union says the computer failure
involved both of the Federal Aviation Administration's computer centers in Salt Lake City and Atlanta.

Some planes were siting on the runway at Newark Liberty International Airport for more than an hour.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest airport, was particularly affected. Airport officials say they called in additional staff.

AirTran canceled 22 flights and dozens more flights were delayed. Delta Air Lines also had big problems out of Atlanta.

FAA officials say the glitch did not affect safety.

An air traffic controllers union representative blames an outdated computer system.

National Air Traffic Controllers Association spokesman Barrett Byrnes says, "It's a nightmare. Had this happened next week (during the Thanksgiving holiday) it would have wreaked havoc."

U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York, said the country's aviation system is "in shambles" and the FAA needs more resources to prevent such problems from continuing.
"If we dont deliver the resources, manpower, and technology the FAA it needs to upgrade the system, these technical glitches that cause cascading delays and chaos across the country are going to become a very regular occurrence," he said in a statement.

Shortly after 10 a.m. the FAA said the computer system was working again.  Delays were expected to continue.  Rain was also moving into the northeast which also brings airport delays.

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