Computer failure at FAA could impact flights nationwide

(NEW YORK) — A computer failure at the Federal Aviation Administration has the potential to impact flights nationwide, including a possible nationwide grounding, ABC News has learned.

The affected system is responsible for sending out flight hazards and real time restrictions to pilots known as NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions).

“THE FAA is experiencing an outage that is impacting the update of NOTAMS. All flights are unable to be released at this time,” the FAA said in a statement.

American Airlines told ABC News that it has only meant delays for their flights for the moment.

“The FAA is working to restore its Notice to Air Missions System. We are performing final validation checks and repopulating the system now,” said the FAA in an update issued shortly after their initial announcement. “Operations across the National Airspace System are affected. We will provide frequent updates as we make progress.”

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