FAA allows flights to resume after computer glitch, morning flights delayed at RDU
Flights to and from Raleigh-Durham International Airport were put on hold for more than an hour Wednesday morning, because of problems with the nation’s air traffic control system.
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered airlines to pause all domestic departures while it worked to restore what’s known as the Notice to Air Missions system. The system, which had failed overnight, provides crucial flight and safety information to pilots before they take off.
Shortly before 7 a.m., the FAA said it had been able to restore some functions of the system. But about 15 minutes later, the agency said it needed more time and ordered departing flights to remain on the ground.
The ground stop was lifted shortly before 9 a.m., and the FAA said normal air traffic operations would resume gradually across the country. The first flight took off from RDU at 9:22 a.m.
The FAA said flights already in the sky were safe to land. The agency said pilots check the system before they take off to learn about closed runways, equipment outages and other potential hazards along their route or at their destination.
Several early morning flights were able to leave RDU on time, according to the airport’s website, but most flights scheduled to leave before 9 a.m. were delayed. The airport urged people to check with their carriers to determine their flight time.
Even after the FAA allowed flights to resume, the delay had a ripple effect throughout the day, as airlines worked to get planes in place for later flights.
Speaking to reporters at the White House shortly before 8 a.m., President Joe Biden said the FAA didn’t know what caused the Notice to Air Missions system to fail.
“They expect in a couple of hours they’ll have a good sense of what caused it and will respond at that time,” Biden said.
FAA first allowed departures to resume at Newark Liberty and Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta international airports “due to air traffic congestion in those areas,” before allowing them to leave other airports just before 9 a.m.
Coming on the heels of the Southwest Airlines meltdown over the holidays, the FAA system outage drew criticism and caused renewed frustration for travelers. Geoff Freeman, president and CEO of the U.S. Travel Association President, said more than 3,000 flights were delayed nationwide and called on federal policymakers to modernize the country’s air travel infrastructure.
“Today’s FAA catastrophic system failure is a clear sign that America’s transportation network desperately needs significant upgrades,” Freeman said in a statement. “Americans deserve an end-to-end travel experience that is seamless and secure. And our nation’s economy depends on a best-in-class air travel system.”
This story was originally published January 11, 2023 at 8:23 AM.
