Air travelers nationwide scrambled to revise their travel plans Thursday after an FAA computer glitch caused widespread cancellations and delays for the second time in 15 months.
The Federal Aviation Administration said the problem, which lasted about five hours, was fixed around 10 a.m., but it was unclear how long flights would continue to be affected.
Doug Church, a spokesman for the National Air Traffic Controllers Union, said controllers were still entering flight plans manually in some locations.
Aviation officials told The Associated Press that the problem began at the computer center in the Salt Lake City area. The officials asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak publicly.
FAA spokesman Paul Takemoto said the problem started between 5:15 and 5:30 a.m. and affected mostly flight plans but also traffic management, such as ground stops and ground delays.
Airplane dispatchers had to send plans to controllers, who entered them into computers by hand.
"It's slowing everything down," Takemoto said.
Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest, has been particularly affected. Chicago and Washington, D.C., and New York metro airports also reported delays due to the glitch. The problem was exacerbating delays caused by bad weather in the Northeast. Orlando International Airport, Florida's busiest, also reported about a dozen delays due to the chain reaction around the country, and flights in Tampa, Fla., were also delayed.
Mary Rulo, an educator from Atlanta, was trying to get to Philadelphia for a conference. She said her 9 a.m. flight was delayed until 3 p.m. and AirTran was not able to help with other arrangements.
"This is really going to affect my conference schedule," she said. "It's really frustrating."
AirTran canceled at least 22 flights and dozens more flights were delayed as of 8 a.m. Delta Air Lines was also affected.
Passengers were asked to check the status of their flights online before going to airports.
At Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Va., nearly all departures were still on time. But passengers on AirTran flight 63 to Atlanta were trying to make other arrangements after that flight was canceled due to the glitch.
Hilda Ruffin of Manassas said the airline urged passengers to head to nearby Reagan National Airport to catch another flight to Atlanta. But for Ruffin, a senior citizen who uses a wheelchair, that proved difficult. She eventually lobbied the airline for a free shuttle pass to get her to Reagan.
"I really fought for it...I don't have the money to pay for a cab," said Ruffin, who was her way to San Antonio. (continued...)
© 2010 Associated Press/AP Online under contract with YellowBrix. All rights reserved.
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