BUFFALO, N.Y. (WKBW) — The FAA announced Wednesday morning that a computer system failure was impacting flights nationwide.
Around 7:30 a.m., the Federal Aviation Administration ordered airlines to pause all domestic departures until 9 a.m. EST.
All flights currently in the sky are safe to land. Pilots check the NOTAM system before they fly. A Notice to Air Missions alerts pilots about closed runways, equipment outages, and other potential hazards along a flight route or at a location that could affect the flight.
— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) January 11, 2023
The computer system outage impacted the administration's Notice to Air Missions System (NOTAM), according to an FAA tweet. NOTAM is responsible for sending out flight hazards and real-time restrictions to pilots.
Just before 9 a.m. Wednesday the FAA announced normal air traffic operations are "resuming gradually" and the ground stop has been lifted.
Update 5: Normal air traffic operations are resuming gradually across the U.S. following an overnight outage to the Notice to Air Missions system that provides safety info to flight crews. The ground stop has been lifted.
— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) January 11, 2023
We continue to look into the cause of the initial problem
While the computer failure only delayed a dozen flights at Buffalo Niagara International Airport, and canceled two flights, for one family it impacted their trip of a lifetime.
"We just want to know if we have a delay of an hour, if we are going to be here all day, if we are going to be stuck in Charlotte all day. I have no idea what's going on, I would love to know what's going on to be honest," said Yasmine Aboueldahub.
She and her family were traveling to Orlando to visit Disneyworld with their 11-year-old daughter who has a medical condition.
But when the Aboueldahub family came to the airport they were met with the delay and later the cancelation of their flight via Delta Airlines.
They were able to fly out of Cheektowaga through a Jet Blue flight.
While other travelers like John Hedlund have been planning their trip to Florida since October and with the Christmas blizzard still fresh on his mind, he hopes to make it there by Wednesday night.
"I was actually one of the ones stranded on transit road for a few hours and trying to sneak back to my home on Friday night of the storm, so I am ready to get out of here right now and we have been looking forward to this trip," said Hedlund.
While the flight delays and groundings were unprecedented, AAA reminded travelers they can protect themselves.
The company recommend downloading airline apps for up to the minute flight status notifications.
"Working on your own behalf as a traveler is very important. Having that app knowing what's going and having an app like FlightAware you can see where your plane is, when it is going to get to the airport and what your status is regarding your flight," said Elizabeth Carey, Director of Public Relations for AAA.
According to AAA, the FAA incident on Wednesday may not be covered by travel insurance. The company reminded travelers to always read the fine print of their policies.
