After the computer crashes: the first domestic flights to the United States begin again

In the US, all domestic flights had to remain temporarily grounded due to a mainframe computer software failure. Meanwhile, the first planes took off again. The White House said there was no evidence of a cyberattack.

After a serious computer glitch, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted the ban on all domestic flights. The FAA announced this via Twitter. Many aircraft had to remain on the ground until 9:00 am local time in Washington (3:00 pm CET). Meanwhile, the first planes took off again from Atlanta and Newark airports in the New York metropolitan area.

In the morning, the system providing pilots and ground crew with important safety information and flight disturbance notifications failed. According to the info, technicians were working to fix the problem and restart the system.

The “Notice to Air Missions” system warns, among other things, of important flight restrictions or technical defects, but also of construction work at airports. All aircraft must work with the system, passenger aircraft as well as military aircraft.

More than 4,000 flights have been delayed

According to flightaware.com, more than 4,000 flights within the United States or to and from the United States were delayed in the morning, and about 700 flights were cancelled.

A spokesman for Frankfurt airport operator Fraport said the operational impact on flight operations in Frankfurt had been minimal so far. A Lufthansa spokesman said the US airline’s flights continued as planned. “We are not affected by this.” Air France also continued to take off but monitored the situation. Some USA flights were delayed from Madrid Airport.

White House spokeswoman Karen Jean-Pierre said there was no evidence of a cyberattack. However, President Joe Biden was informed of the incident.