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More than 8,000 US flights delayed and over 1,200 canceled so far today
Delays and cancellations at airports across the US are still climbing following an outage in the Federal Administration Aviation's Notice to Air Missions system.
So far, 8,116 flights within, into or from the US have been delayed on Wednesday, and 1,213 flights were canceled, according to the flight-tracking site FlightAware.
Airports have been advising travelers to check with their airlines to see their latest flight status.
American Airlines is actually having a worse day than Southwest by one measure
From CNN's Chris Isidore and Pete Muntean
Southwest, which canceled tens of thousands of flights after Christmas following a systemwide meltdown, was hit hard on Wednesday after a Federal Aviation Administration system outage, with 377 canceled flights.
About 9% of Southwest flights are canceled and 47% of flights are delayed.
The airline said mid-morning Wednesday that operations have resumed.
"As a result of the FAA's outage, we anticipate some schedule adjustments will be made throughout the day," Southwest said in a statement, encouraging travelers to check their flight status online or via the airline's app. Southwest has also issued a waiver allowing travelers to change their flights.
American Airlines was hit even harder by one measure: Including feeder airlines that use regional jets, American said it has canceled nearly 400 flights as of midday Wednesday.
While the Wednesday's flight cancellations at Southwest are a problem for its customers, it was nowhere near as bad as what it experienced from Dec. 21 through Dec. 29, when more than 16,700 flights, or nearly half of its scheduled, had to be canceled due to lack of available staff.
Buttigieg says there is no evidence of cyberattack, but also won't rule it out
From CNN's Greg Wallace
There is no evidence yet that Wednesday’s air travel technology meltdown resulted from a cyberattack, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said, but he added that he also wouldn’t rule it out.
“There’s been no direct evidence or indication of that, but we are also not going rule that out until we have a clear and better understanding of what’s taken place,” Buttigieg said in an interview with CNN.
Buttigieg, who has been hard on airlines over their staffing and technology issues in the last year, said the Transportation Department and Federal Aviation Administration would “own” responsibility for their failures.
He said the dramatic nationwide ground stop of departing flights was out of an “abundance of caution.”
The “FAA will always act to make sure that passengers are safe,” he said.“Part of what you saw this morning was an act of caution to be sure – until it was 100% airtightthat the system was working properly even just delivering messages – that we had that ground stop,” he said.
Buttigieg defends FAA's decision to ground flights after system outage
From CNN's Shawna Mizelle
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg defended the Federal Aviation Administration’s decision Wednesday morning to ground flights nationwide following a safety system outage, saying it was “the right call” but acknowledging that “these kinds of disruptions should not happen.”
“And my primary interest, now that we've gotten through the immediate disruptions of the morning, is understanding exactly how this was possible and what steps are needed to make sure it doesn't happen again,” Buttigieg told CNN’s Kate Bolduan on “At This Hour.”
Buttigieg cited irregularities with the FAA system that relays safety messages out to airports, aircraft and airlines and said the flight halt was put in place to ensure the system was working correctly.
Transportation secretary says it's the right time to review the FAA's technology
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg was asked on CNN this morning if today's outage is an indication that the FAA's system is out of date. He responded said that is one of the "key questions" officials need to look at based on what happened overnight.
Following a failure of the Federal Aviation Administration's Notice to Air Missions or NOTAM system, more than 6,700 flights within, into or from the US have been delayed so far on Wednesday, with more than 1,000 cancellations, according to the flight-tracking site FlightAware.
The number of cancellations and delays has continued to climb despite the agency lifting a ground stop that it issued earlier Wednesday morning following the outage to the system that provides pilots with notices they need before flying.
Rep. Rick Larsen, the top Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, told CNN’s Kaitlan Collins Wednesday that the failure of Federal Aviation Administration's Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system “begs the question about the current state of the technology infrastructure at the FAA.”
Asked about the comments, Buttigieg said he welcomed the attention from Congress, especially because the US is nearing the time period when it needs to renew funding for the FAA.
"It's the right time to take upthose questions," Buttigieg said.
More than 6,700 US flights delayed and over 1,000 canceled so far
Delays and cancellations are stacking up at airports across the country following an outage in the Federal Administration Aviation's Notice to Air Missions system.
More than 6,700 flights within, into or from the US have been delayed so far on Wednesday, with more than 1,000 cancellations, according to the flight-tracking site FlightAware.
Airports have been advising travelers to check with individuals airlines to see their latest flight status.
Sen. Cruz calls for FAA reforms in wake of outage
From CNN's Betsy Klein
Sen. Ted Cruz, the top Republican on the SenateCommittee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, called for congressional reforms to the Federal Aviation Administration in the wake of the outage Wednesday.
“The flying public deserves safety in the sky. The FAA’s inability to keep an important safety system up and running is completely unacceptable and just the latest example of dysfunction within the Department of Transportation. The administration needs to explain to Congress what happened, and Congress should enact reforms in this year’s FAA reauthorization legislation. This incident also highlights why the public needs a competent, proven leader with substantive aviation experience leading the FAA,” he said in a statement.
Meanwhile, Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell, who chairs the SenateCommittee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, said the panel will look into the causes behind the outage, noting in a statement that the "public needs a resilient air transportation system.”
The agency has been operating without a permanent leader since March. President Joe Biden’s nominee to head the organization, Phillip Washington, hasn’t even received a confirmation hearing.
CNN's Ted Barrett contributed reporting to this post.
FAA is currently operating without a permanent leader as Biden's nominee faces criticism
From CNN's Kevin Liptak
As the Federal Aviation Administration scrambled to get its systems back online Wednesday, causing nationwide delays in air traffic, the agency was operating without a permanent leader.
That’s because President Joe Biden’s nominee to head the organization, Phillip Washington, hasn’t even received a confirmation hearing.
Washington is currently the CEO of the Denver International Airport, his first major leadership role solely focused on aviation. He previously held leadership roles at municipal transit organizations, including in Denver and Los Angeles, focused on bus and rail lines.
He has faced questions about his limited aviation experience and in September, was named in a search warrant issued as part of a political corruption investigation in Los Angeles.It sought more information related to potential favoritism in the awarding of contracts by the Los Angeles Metropolitan Transit Authority.
Because his nomination wasn’t acted upon during the last Congress, Biden faced a choice this month of whether to resubmit his name for consideration or identify a new nominee. Biden renominated Washington last week, signaling the administration’s continued support for him. But it remains unclear when he will receive a hearing.
The FAA has been without a permanent administrator since March, when the Trump-nominated Stephen Dickson stepped down midway through his five-year term. Bill Nolan, the agency’s top safety official, was named acting director in April.
Ground stop for Chicago airports lifted
From CNN's Paul P. Murphy
After the Federal Aviation Administration system experienced an outage this morning, both O'Hare International and Midway International airports lifted their ground stop for all inbound and outbound flights.
"Residual delays or cancellations will likely continue throughout the day as a result of this morning's outage," according to a tweet from O'Hare.
Average delays for O'Hare are currently about 50 mins, while Midway delays are averaging about 75 minutes, according to the Chicago Department of Aviation.
