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Computer glitch delaying flights

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By Mike Morris , The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Updated 8:48 AM Thursday, November 19, 2009

A computer glitch shut down most, if not all, departing flights at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and other airports across the country Thursday morning.

One passenger said a Delta Air Lines gate agent announced that the computer problem would not allow pilots to retrieve flight plans, and that no planes were taking off.

"We are having a problem processing flight plan information," Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said in a statement.

"We are investigating the cause of the problem," Bergen said. "We are processing flight plans manually and expect some delays."

Bergen said the problem was affecting flights that had not yet taken off and that air traffic controllers "have radar coverage and communications with planes" already in the air.

She did not know how many airports were affected, but said the problem "is much more widespread than just Atlanta."

Bergen said the glitch did not pose a safety problem, but was "more of a convenience issue."

AirTran cancelled 22 flights because of the FAA's computer problems, airline spokesman Christopher White said. "Dozens" more have been delayed, he said.

Anyone flying out of Hartsfield should check www.airtran.com before coming to the airport, White said.

In August, 2008, a malfunction of a computer at the FAA center in Henry County that oversees flight plans for the eastern half of the United States delayed hundreds of flights across the country. During that failure, the FAA shifted the processing to a backup center in Salt Lake City.

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