Airport impacted by FAA computer glitch

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - A major computer glitch wreaked havoc for air travelers at Indianapolis International Airport and across the nation Thursday.

“Well, there was a national glitch in the FAA’s computer system, that has led the FAA folks to have to manually enter the data for each flight," said Susan Sullivan, the spokesperson for Indianapolis International Airport.

Manually entering data takes longer which affected travelers nationwide. The problem was traced to the FAA’s center in Salt Lake City.

That’s where they say a circuit board inside a router failed, preventing computers in various regions from communicating with one another. The resulting backlog affected major hubs where air traffic controllers couldn’t get airline flight plans quick enough.

Most of the cancellations affected flights connected to Atlanta, New York and Washington DC. Airport officials say there could also be problems on Friday.

24-Hour News 8 found a couple of Atlanta bound travelers who had problems Thursday.

“They have me booked on a late flight, close to eight, but again, it’s tentative that I’ll get down,” said Jennifer Forney.

“A little disappointed. Ha, ha! Because I rushed here, I could’ve been doing things at home. I have three kids at home so it could’ve been a lot easier to be there instead of being here sitting and waiting," said Becky Williams.

The Air Traffic Controllers Union told 24-Hour News 8 that this was a completely different computer system than the one they use to keep tabs on flights. They say flight safety was never an issue. However, this is the second time in 15 months that the FAA has had a problem with this particular system.

Airport officials said there could also be problems on Friday.

Travelers are encouraged to either call before leaving to go to the airport or check their Web site for delays or cancellations.