FAA Software Slip-Up Delays Flights Nationwide

The Northeast was hardest hit by the delays prompted Tuesday by a glitch at a Hampton, Ga., facility that processes flight plans for the eastern half of the U.S.

As of Wednesday morning, the FAA said that the situation around the country had returned to normal, with most delays from the malfunction being cleared up Tuesday night. But spokesperson Diane Spitaliere said the investigation into what caused the problem is still ongoing, and she did not know when it would be completed.

"It usually takes a while to be quite honest," she said.

Software Snafu

At one point, an FAA Web site that tracks airport status showed delays at some three dozen major airports across the country. The site advised passengers to "check your departure airport to see if your flight may be affected."

The FAA said the glitch appeared to have involved a software problem.

Sen. John McCain, the Republican presidential candidate, said the episode "once again highlights the need to reform and repair a broken system." His Democratic rival, Sen. Barack Obama, said "airline passengers are sick and tired of delays and cancellations." And the nonprofit Travel Industry Association called it "one more example of America's deteriorating air travel system."

The FAA, for its part, said it would work to make sure the problem doesn't happen again.

Another FAA spokesperson, Kathleen Bergen in Atlanta, said there were no safety issues and officials were still able to speak to pilots on planes on the ground and in the air.

What We've Got Here Is Failure to Communicate

According to the FAA, 646 flights had been delayed as a direct result of the problem. In a 24-hour period the FAA processes more than 300,000 flight plans in the U.S., the agency said.

Bergen said the problem that occurred Tuesday afternoon involved a failure in a communication link that transmits flight plan data from the Georgia facility to a similar facility in Salt Lake City.

As a result, the Salt Lake City facility was having to process those flight plans, causing delays in planes taking off. She said the delays were primarily affecting departing flights. Spitaliere said there were some problems with arriving flights as well.

During an early evening conference call with reporters, Spitaliere said Tuesday's glitch appeared to be a software problem and the situation was returning to normal. The Hampton facility began processing flight plans again as of 1:15 a.m. Wednesday, Bergen said.

As of Tuesday evening, airports in Chicago were still experiencing 30-minute delays, while delays of 60 minutes were seen in Atlanta, which also dealt with weather issues. Bergen said those delays were cleared up as of Wednesday morning.

Bergen said there was an unrelated hardware problem at the Hampton facility on Aug. 21 that resulted in issues processing flight plans. The FAA says on its Web site that a glitch that day involving the Hampton facility delayed the departure of at least 134 flights.

Stop Making Plans, Please

A spokesperson for Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest airport, did not return a call seeking comment on the impact there from Tuesday's episode. Bergen said officials at the Atlanta airport were entering flight data manually to try to speed things up.

Discount carrier AirTran Airways, which has its hub at the Atlanta airport, said in a statement that because of the suburban FAA center snafu it was at one point taking up to an hour for the FAA to get clearances to the towers for departures Tuesday. Delta Air Lines (NYSE: DAL) , which has its main hub in Atlanta, said flights were processing for takeoff, but slowly.

The communication failure caused delays for departures and arrivals at Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport, according to airport spokesperson Cheryl Stewart. However, she did not have a number on delays.

The FAA at one point asked that no new flight plans be filed, Stewart said.

Phil Orlandella, a spokesperson for Massport, which operates Boston's Logan International Airport, said there were significant delays there, but the situation eased up by Tuesday evening.

The National Airspace Data Interchange Network is a data communications system for air traffic controllers. It's used to distribute flight plans and allows controllers to know when planes are leaving, where they're going and other details.

Allen Kenitzer, a western regional spokesperson for the FAA, said the Utah system could handle the extra load while workers tried to get the Atlanta area system back online, but it was expected to slow down air traffic.

"We're not going to let an unsafe condition exist. It's just going to be slower," Kenitzer said.