The Federal Aviation Administration believes it has fixed the computer glitch that led to hundreds of flight delays Tuesday, raising hopes that flight schedules will return to normal today. But The Atlanta Journal-Constitution (free registration) writes that "as major airlines continue to clear the backlog" this morning, "passengers could experience delays (and ... ) should check their flight status before leaving for the airport." FAA spokeswoman Diane Spitaliere tells The New York Times (free registration) that the problem was "pretty much resolved" by early evening. CNN adds that "most major airports were reporting flights departing on time or with less than 15-minute delays" by 9:30 p.m. ET last night.
As for the FAA's glitch, USA TODAY writes that "a computer system that tracks aircraft flight plans failed Tuesday, triggering hundreds of flight delays across the East and the Midwest. It's unclear why the system failed. Officials said Tuesday night that they are investigating the cause." Though the delays rippled to airports nationwide, FAA air traffic chief Hank Krakowski tells USA TODAY that the worst delays were reported at Chicago O'Hare, Atlanta, Chicago Midway, Boston and Baltimore/Washington.
CNN says the glitch originated when an Atlanta-area FAA facility started having "problems processing data, requiring that all flight-plan information be processed through a facility in Salt Lake City, Utah, overloading that facility." The Wall Street Journal (subscription required) writes "FAA officials and controllers emphasized that safety was never compromised, because planes were kept on the ground until flight paths were approved. Controllers never lost communications with any of the thousands of airliners already headed for their destinations, and approach and takeoff procedures remained basically unchanged immediately around airports."
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