ALBANY, N.Y. (NEWS10) — A nationwide system outage at the Federal Aviation Administration gave travelers headaches early Wednesday morning. Some travelers face this challenge after delaying their trip while on vacation due to bad weather.
“That’s actually why we’re traveling now,” said Justin Foster, who is traveling to Michigan. Obviously we will be a little late.”
The delay was caused by problems in notifying the FAA’s Air Mission Systems, which provide pilots with important information about weather conditions, safety and possible alternative routes before each flight.
Albany International Airport spokesman Doug Myers said the FAA would communicate directly with the airport in the event of a major disruption to travel. Myers said the nationwide suspension of all domestic departures is a safety measure.
“Flight systems are very complex,” says Myers. “There are many computers working to ensure that flights fly safely every day and that the safety record of US airlines is excellent. , I don’t know what it was.
The travel woes start to end around 9am, but the process will be slow for some travelers trying to board a plane. Myers said the process of getting back to full schedules and having flights fully operational will be gradual throughout the day.
“There was a series of cancellations, then everything from there, and now I’m going back and forth between Delta and American Airlines,” said Lucas Casey, who is traveling to Florida.
“I called Southwest on the phone and it’s on hold,” said Thomas Smith, who is traveling to Texas. “I thought I’d come downstairs and try it here. If not, I’ll go back to the hotel and try again tomorrow.”
A system failure is currently under investigation.
