New Delhi:
Flights across the United States have been affected by a technical glitch. With a computer system in an unprecedented disruption, news reports said Wednesday.
All flights in the US have been grounded following the incident, NBC News reported, citing a source. Flight tracking website Flight Air reported that about 5,400 flights into or out of the United States were delayed as of 7 a.m. ET. An additional 100 flights were also cancelled.
According to the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), normal air traffic is gradually resuming across the country. It previously asked airlines to halt all domestic departures until 9 a.m. US Eastern Time. And is working to restore a system that alerts pilots to hazards and changes in airport facilities. And procedures that stopped processing updated information.
In an advisory, the civil aviation regulator said its NOTAM (Notice to Air Mission) system had “failed”. There was no immediate estimate of when it would return. The website showed, although NOTAMs issued before the outage were still visible.
Passengers on social media reported flight delays and disruptions across the US from Hawaii to Washington. According to the Washington post. Airports from Texas to Pennsylvania have confirmed flights across the country have been affected.
Aviation expert Pervez Damania called it an “amazing and unheard of situation”. “I don’t remember the last time the country’s entire airspace was closed. Maybe during 9/11. It’s going to cause incredible disruption,” he told NDTV over phone.
