A.G. Gancarski
Airlines were grounded around the country Wednesday morning as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) wrestled with computer issues, and a Florida Senator wants to know why.
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott on Wednesday addressed the issue on Twitter, saying he expected answers not only from the FAA, but also from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
“Safety is always the top priority, but leaving millions of travelers stranded and delayed to their destinations is not okay. I expect (the FAA) and (Buttigieg) to immediately provide a FULL briefing to Congress on what happened and how they will ensure it NEVER happens again,” Scott urged.
The Senator’s demand for accountability comes as flights have now resumed, but the FAA has not yet offered insight as to why the computer issue happened to begin with.
“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. We continue to look into the cause of the initial problem,” the FAA News account tweeted Wednesday shortly before 9 a.m.
The progress in restoring the Notice to Air Missions system has been gradual throughout the morning. Flights resumed from Newark and Atlanta airports first, with the FAA offering assurances the computer issues wouldn’t affect airplane safety.
“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 tweeted earlier Wednesday morning.
Though the issue appears to be solved, many travelers were affected earlier in the day. The Associated Press notes that more than 3,700 flights were delayed, with more than 640 cancellations.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
4 comments
Hope
January 11, 2023 at 9:41 am
Boot-edge-edge needs to get the 🥾!
SteveHC
January 11, 2023 at 10:34 am
Not his fault. The problem was caused by DECADES of CONGRESSIONAL as well as Presidential neglect and failure to fully update and modernize the FAA’s computer systems and related networks by BOTH political parties and BOTH the Congressional Senate and House of Representatives.
Mother Superior Slapshot, Bishop Hedman Academy
January 11, 2023 at 11:44 am
Goodness, Hope, you must have a wealth of knowledge regarding the American aviation industry and the Federal Aviation Administration and computer technology to know so quickly what the real problem was this morning! Perhaps you should call Mister Rick Scott immediately–I’m sure he would like to hear from a real expert that he can quote. I hear he’s a real Man of the People, a regular guy untarnished by his ill-gotten gains in the health care industry prior to entering politics. So go ahead and give your man a call, bless your heart, you have so little to lose.
SteveHC
January 11, 2023 at 10:44 am
Just more of Scott’s BS political grandstanding coupled with lack of ability to actually do *ANYTHING* constructive by way of actually solving the problem; even his fellow Republicans in Congress are most likely to ignore him and proceed at their own slow-at-turtles’-pace along with provision of cheap-as-Scrooge’s financial assistance to the FAA and Dept. if Transportation.
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