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FAA Computer Glitch Causes Delays At OIA

Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) computer issues caused a number of flight delays and cancellations nationwide that impacted Orlando International Airport (OIA) Thursday and all other airports nationally. According to the FAA, the incident started between 5:15am 5:30am.

A major computer meltdown brought airports to a screeching halt Thursday. More than 100 planes were delayed out of Orlando International Airport and, as of Thursday evening, around 20 flights were still delayed.

Eyewitness News asked the FAA specifically and they said there is no indication that the computer crash was the result of a cyber-attack.


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VIDEO REPORT: Glitch Impacts Flights At OIA

The delays had many passengers frustrated at OIA. Nancy and Denny Nobles spent the past week in Central Florida and say they just want to go back to New Orleans.

“I didn't think it would still be a problem this afternoon,” Nancy Nobles said.

The computer glitch caused widespread flight delays all over the eastern United States and put a damper on things at Orlando International Airport.

“We believe there will be residual delays because the morning departure flights have not departed on schedule as they would,” OIA spokesperson Ronald Lewis said.

Many of delays lasted around a half-hour and the longest was up to two hours. There are roughly 240 flights expected to arrive and depart OIA on Thursday evening and around half are delayed.

A more accurate count of delays is expected by the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday. Airport authorities said it's impossible to track the average delay times on any given day.

The computer system that had the problem is used to input information such as the flight number, type of on-board equipment and take off location. The process is done before a plane departs and, when the system went down, workers had to put in the information manually, which caused a backlog to a normally speedy and efficient system.

“That's the key. Patience is going to be required,” Lewis said.

Many passengers at OIA used patience and took the delays in stride.

“They had a computer glitch. It's just one of those things,” passenger Kathy Springer said.

Around 9:00am, the control tower at OIA returned to normal functions. However, the airport officials say delays might linger. Airtran Airways, which is based in Orlando, announced passengers with tickets can re-book without a charge.

In 2008, nearly 36 million passengers used OIA. It's ranked as the world's 22nd busiest airport and the 11th busiest in the U.S.

Air travelers nationwide scrambled to revise their plans Thursday after the FAA computer glitch caused widespread cancellations and delays for the second time in 15 months.

Aviation officials told The Associated Press that the problem began at the computer center in Salt Lake City. Passengers were asked to check the status of their flights online before going to airports.
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