FAA says flight computer working again

WASHINGTON - The Federation Aviation Administration says its flight computer system is working again, after a glitch snarled air traffic Thursday morning.

A problem with the FAA system that collects airlines' flight plans caused the hundreds of delays, including delays at Ronald Reagan Washington National and Dulles International.

It took five hours to fix the glitch, which affected the computer system that processes flight plans electronically.

FAA spokesman Paul Takemoto said the problem started between 5:15 and 5:30 a.m. and affected mostly flight plans but also traffic management, such as ground stops and ground delays.

It was not a safety issue, officials say.

Radar and communications systems were intact, FAA spokeswoman Laura J. Brown tells WTOP.

There was no danger to flights in the air, and flights continued taking off and landing, says AirTran Airways spokesman Christopher White.

AirTran canceled at least 22 flights. Dozens more were delayed. Delta Air Lines offered passengers no charge for changes as it experienced problems.

Flight plans are collected by the FAA for traffic nationwide at two centers - one in the Salt Lake City area and the other in the Atlanta area. The computer failure affected both centers.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, the world's busiest airport, was particularly affected. Chicago also reported delays, as did Orlando and Tampa.

CBS and The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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