AUSTIN, Texas — The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has lifted Wednesday morning's nationwide ground stop after a computer failure late Tuesday night.
ABC News reported that the system that sends out flight hazards and real-time restrictions for pilots and their crews was down. That system, called the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM), is required for pilots-in-command to be able to take off and land.
As of 7:51 a.m. Wednesday, the FAA has lifted the ground stop after a little over two hours. The ground stop halted all domestic departures until 8 a.m. CST to allow the "agency to validate the integrity of flight and safety information."
The agency is looking into what caused the issue that began in the evening hours on Tuesday.
At 5:22 a.m., the Austin-Bergstrom International Airport (AUS) tweeted that it was experiencing a ground stop and that passengers could expect delays throughout the day. AUS reported as much as 235 flight delays and 36 cancellations following the FAA instruction, as of around 12 p.m.
"All departing flights from AUS are grounded per FAA. There is a system error impacting airports across the country. AUS is still recommending that passengers check in with their airlines this morning plus anyone check their flight status because it is likely to delay/impact their flight," AUS Public Information Bailey Grimmett said.
A passenger at AUS, George Bates, didn't know that the problems with the NOTAM had led to a ground stop until someone at the Fast Park told him.
"They were coming over to help us with our bags and said, 'Guys, did you hear all the flights were down?'" Bates said. "I was like, 'What?'"
In a note to Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC), the FAA stated "GROUND STOP ALL FLIGHTS / ALL DESTINATIONS, EXCLUDES MILITARY." The note to ATCSCC further stated that the ground stop would affect all airports and facilities.
Following the instruction from the FAA and ATCSSC, President Joe Biden was briefed regarding the outage by the Secretary of Transportation at 6:44 a.m., according to a tweet from White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre.
Southwest Airlines, which experienced mass delays not even a month ago during winter weather, stated that it is monitoring the issue with the FAA systems and the issue may impact the start of operations Wednesday.
"Please check your flight status in the Southwest app or website to watch for any flight status changes. If your flight status changes substantially, we will message the day of travel contact listed on your reservation by their preferred contact method," Southwest said.