FAA orders temporary suspension of U.S. flights due to computer failure

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered airlines to delay all U.S. departures until at least 9:30 a.m. EST because of a computer outage at the agency.

Flights have already been delayed at several airports across the country.

At about 7:20 a.m., the agency said on Twitter that it had “ordered airlines to suspend all domestic flights until 9 a.m. ET to allow the agency to verify the integrity of flight and safety information.”

The agency later told CBS News that the pause had been extended until 9:30 a.m. but did not affect military or medical flights.

As of 7:45 a.m. EST, there were more than 2,500 delays in, to or from the United States, according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.com. The number grew rapidly.

The agency said on Twitter that it is working to restore the Airborne Notification System (NOTAM).

“We are performing final validation checks and rebooting the system,” the FAA said. “Operations in the National Airspace System are affected.”

At approximately 7:00 a.m., the FAA said on Twitter that “while some functions are beginning to come back online, National Airspace System operations remain limited.”

White House press secretary Karin Jean-Pierre tweeted: “This morning the President was briefed by the Secretary of Transportation on a failure in the FAA system. At this time, there is no evidence of a cyberattack, but the president ordered the DOT to conduct a full investigation into the cause. The FAA will provide regular updates.”

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg previously tweeted that he had contacted the FAA about the failure:

NOTAMs used to be available through a hotline, but it was discontinued along with the Internet. Alerts range from routine information about construction at airports to reports of urgent flight restrictions or broken equipment.

— Catherine Krupnik spoke in the report.