All-clear after computer chaos
Airplanes in the USA can take off again
In the United States, all air traffic came to a standstill on Wednesday morning (local time). The reason was a computer problem. Flight operations are now slowly starting up again.
At times nothing worked at the American airports. (icon picture)
In the United States, there was a total collapse in aviation on Wednesday morning. Thousands of flights remained on the ground and were not allowed to take off. The reason: A computer problem at the national aviation authority FAA.
Planes that were already airborne could continue flying. This is shown by the “Flightradar24” page. Landings were also possible without any problems.
Shortly after the incident occurred, the FAA told NBC News: “The FAA is working to restore its systems. Operations throughout the national airspace system are affected.”
Flight operations are slowly being resumed
According to the flightaware.com website, more than 750 flights within, to or from the United States were delayed on Wednesday morning (local time), and around 100 were canceled. It was not clear whether the computer failure was the reason for the disruption.
Shortly before 9 a.m. local time (3 p.m. Swiss time), the FAA gave the all-clear. After the flight authority had initially ordered that all domestic flights must remain on the ground, the first planes were able to take off again in the afternoon Swiss time. “Normal flight operations are gradually being resumed in the USA,” writes the FAA on Twitter.
The exact reason for the system failure is not yet known. The FAA announced an investigation.
Air traffic with Switzerland not affected
The interruption in the USA had no effect on Zurich Airport, as a spokeswoman told Blick.
The operational business of Swiss is also not affected, says media spokesman Michael Stief. “Flights that are already in the air are expected to land normally in the United States. Planned Swiss flights to the USA are now taking place as planned, no cancellations are planned. » (zis/shq)