[Update: Jan. 12, 2:15 p.m. ET]
The tally of canceled U.S. flights Wednesday reached 1,353, with 10,942 delayed after the day started with a ground stop from the FAA, according to aviation tracker Flight Aware. Yesterday’s stoppage was the first time the FAA ordered a national ground stop since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Operations are running more smoothly today, with 124 cancellations and 2,336 delays for flights within, into or out of the U.S. as of 2:10 p.m. The four top U.S. carriers had delay rates of 10 percent or lower at that time and practically no cancellations.
[Update: Jan. 11, 2:15 p.m. ET]
The Federal Aviation Administration's Notice to Air Missions system
suffered
a nationwide outage earlier today, causing hundreds of flight delays,
cancellations and ripple effects outlasting the technology breakdown.
This update adds a response from Southwest Airlines. The
carrier has resumed operations after the FAA lifted its ground stop. As a
result of the outage, Southwest anticipates schedule adjustments will be made
throughout the day, has posted a travel advisory on its website and is
encouraging customers to check flight status on the Southwest app or its
website for changes prior to arriving at the airport.
The carrier also is allowing those customers traveling
today, Jan. 11, to rebook in the original class of service or to travel standby
within 14 days of the original date of travel between the original city-pairs
and in accordance with Southwest's accommodation procedures, without paying
additional charges.
Southwest, through a spokesperson, also said that the
company is fully staffed and focused on operating as many flights as possible
today, though it expects delays because of the FAA ground stop that pushed the
departure of its first East Coast flights by two to three hours. Before the FAA
ground stop was lifted, Southwest proactively canceled flights early to begin
reaching customers with updates and flexibility to self-serve changes to their
travel plans.
Update Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 1 p.m. ET _______________________
The Federal Aviation Administration's Notice to Air Missions system suffered
a nationwide outage earlier today, causing hundreds of flight delays, cancellations and ripple effects outlasting the technology breakdown.
As of early afternoon, flights have resumed but with
continued cancellations and delays across the country.
In addition to United's waiver and refund offer, American is
"providing additional flexibility to rebook their travel plans today and
tomorrow without any additional fees," according to an American
spokesperson. Delta is offering a "fare difference waiver" to all
Delta and Delta Connection flights on Wed., Jan. 11, and "will give
customers additional flexibility to change their flights, even if their flight
isn't delayed or canceled," according to a posting on Delta's website.
Delta also noted that it was working with the FAA on
"strategic delay programs" at certain airports throughout the day in
order to prevent further congestion on the ground and to make sure there was
enough available gate space at airports, according to the carrier. Still,
"potential for additional delays and cancels continue," according to
Delta.
Southwest Airlines had not yet responded to a request for
information at the time of publication.
As of 1 p.m., based on scheduled flights for today, the
percentage of cancellations and delays continued to grow for each of the
following four carriers, according to Flight Aware. There so far have been a
total of 7,539 delays and 1,163 cancellations for flights within, into or out
of the United States.
Southwest had 377 cancellations (9 percent) and 1,813 delays
(47 percent). American had 183 cancellations (6 percent) and 1,232 delays (41
percent). United had 68 cancellations (3 percent) and 739 delays (32 percent).
And Delta had 58 cancellations and 1,042 delays (36 percent).
Despite Flight Aware's total of 58 cancellations, Delta
noted in a statement that it had to cancel more than 130 Delta and Delta
Connection flights "after all other options were exhausted."
Update Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 10:10 a.m. ET _______________________
The Federal Aviation Administration's Notice to Air Missions system, which sends out real-time
flights hazards and restrictions to all commercial airline pilots, suffered
a nationwide outage earlier today.
The U.S. Travel Association president and CEO Geoff Freeman commented
on the FAA outage this morning:
"Today's FAA catastrophic system failure is a clear
sign that American's transportation network desperately needs significant
updates," Freeman said in a statement. "Americans deserve an
end-to-end travel experience that is seamless and secure. And our nation's
economy depends on a best-in-class air travel system. We call on federal
policymakers to modernize our vital air travel infrastructure to ensure our
systems are able to meet demand safely and efficiently."
As of 10:10 a.m., there were 5,417 flight delays within,
into or out of the United States, and 907 cancellations, according to Flight
Aware. Southwest of its scheduled flights had 328 cancellations (8 percent) and
1,664 delays (43 percent). American had 172 cancellations (5 percent) and 772
delays (26 percent). Delta had 37 cancellations (1 percent) and 690 delays (24
percent). United had 29 cancellations (1 percent) and 512 delays (22 percent).
Update Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 9:23 a.m. ET _______________________
The Notice to Air Missions system, which sends out real-time
flights hazards and restrictions to all commercial airline pilots, suffered
a nationwide outage earlier today, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration.
While some functions have begun to come back online, the FAA was still working to fully restore the system. The
agency had ordered airlines to "pause all domestic departures" until
9 a.m. Eastern Time to allow the FAA to "validate the integrity of flight
and safety information." But by 8:15 a.m., departures had resumed at
Newark Liberty International Airport and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson International
Airport, according to the FAA.
By 8:50 a.m., normal air traffic operations had begun to
gradually resume across the United States, according to the FAA, which has
lifted the ground stop.
The agency said it will continue to look into the cause of
the initial problem.
The number of flights delayed so far today by 9 a.m. was
4,013 according to aviation tracker Flight Aware. Southwest Airlines had 1,677
or 44 percent of its schedule delayed, American Airlines had 522 or 17 percent
of its schedule delayed, Delta Airlines had 466 or 16 percent delayed, and United Airlines had 313 or 13 percent of its
flights delayed, according to the tracker.
Airlines are cautioning that delays and cancellations could continue to ripple through their schedules. United has issued a statement that it is working to restore its schedule and has activated a travel waiver for any customers who need to change their
plans, including offering refunds for customers who no longer want to
travel.
Original post Wednesday, Jan. 11 at 8:43 a.m. ET______________________
The Notice to Air Missions system, which sends out real-time
flights hazards and restrictions to all commercial airline pilots, has suffered
a nationwide outage, according to the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration on
Wednesday.
While some functions have begun to come back online,
according to the FAA, it was still working to fully restore the system. The
agency has ordered airlines to "pause all domestic departures" until
9 a.m. Eastern Time to allow the FAA to "validate the integrity of flight
and safety information."
United Airlines sent a notice that it has temporarily
delayed all domestic flights.