FAA computer glitch causes air travel chaos
A problem with the Federal Aviation Authority’s computer system has caused widespread delays and cancellations. The agency stresses there is no security or safety risk stemming from the glitch.
The problem affects the automated process by which flight plans are added to the FAA system. This means that air traffic controllers had to add the details to the system manually, slowing down the process.
The flight plan system is based in both Salt Lake City and Atlanta, and there are conflicting reports as to which site experienced the glitch, or if it affected both sites. It appears the delays began on the East coast but inevitably spread nationwide through knock-on effects. The glitch itself was reportedly largely fixed after around five hours, but it will take some time to get back to a normal schedule.
An FAA spokesperson said, “We have radar coverage and communications with planes,” while one airline, AirTran, confirmed “Everything is safe in the air.”
This isn’t the first computer-related problem the FAA has suffered in recent times. In February hackers were able to breach a server containing personnel records including the names and social security numbers of the agency’s entire staff. And in August last year, a glitch similar to the one experienced today also caused flight disruption.
Of course, most tech services would be happy with a system that only suffered one glitch every 15 months. But the nature of busy airport schedules means that when such a glitch happens, a quickly fixed local problem is all too likely to have longer-lasting nationwide effects.
The one crumb of comfort tech-loving passengers can take from their delays is that the incident comes barely a week into Google’s holiday offer of free Wi-Fi access in airports. Microsoft is running a similar scheme at airports across the country.
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