FAA glitch causes minor flight delays at Logan Airport

BOSTON -- A serious glitch in the FAA computer system grounded hundreds of flights across the country but caused only minor problems here in Boston.

A few flights were cancelled and several were delayed but things at Logan got back to normal relatively quickly.

It was a much different story elsewhere, though. It was not a good day to fly in many cities across the U.S. as many faced a cascade of backed up planes and delayed and canceled flights.

The problem started at 5 a.m. Eastern when an FAA computer system used by pilots to file flight plans went down. Air traffic controllers had to type in the data of thousands of flight plans just as millions of travelers were arriving at airports.

The FAA worked all morning to fix the glitch.

The tracking of planes was never affected. The computer was fixed by 9 a.m. Eastern, but delays rippled up the East Coast to Boston.

“I found out about the glitch and I saw that my flight was canceled,” said Lauren Appelbaum of Boston, MA.

The FAA said technical and safety experts are discussing system corrections. However, this is the second failure in 15 months.

“This system has needed a redo for the last decade and we're going to see repeated failures if we don't address this system,” said Jim Hall, former chairman of the National Transportation Safety Board.

Making matters worse, weather was bad in the East and Midwest.

However, it is fortunate that the glitch occurred this week instead of next, as Thanksgiving is one of the most popular times to fly.

Even though the problem has been repaired there are still delays at airports across the country.

New York Senator Chuck Schumer said the aviation system is in shambles. He and others say Congress has to come up with funds to fix it.

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