Dozens of Sacramento flights delayed or canceled amid nationwide FAA system problem
Dozens of flights at Sacramento International Airport were delayed or canceled Wednesday after a nationwide computer system outage grounded aircraft and disrupted domestic flight schedules across the U.S.
At least 18 Southwest Airlines flights were canceled Wednesday at the Sacramento airport, and another 65 delayed, according to flight tracking website FlightAware.com. No cancellations were reported on other airlines, though 22 across other domestic airlines were delayed.
The Sacramento airport’s website showed 13 arrivals and seven departures planned for Wednesday morning were running at least an hour late, across all airlines.
The Federal Aviation Administration, in statements beginning overnight, said its Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system broke down Tuesday evening. NOTAMs are a required procedure pilots use to check for restrictions or hazards ahead of a flight.
In an update just before 6 a.m. Pacific, the FAA said normal air traffic was “resuming gradually” across the U.S. and that a nationwide ground stop for domestic flights had been lifted.
The FAA in notices said the NOTAM system failed just before 5:30 p.m. Pacific, and that the agency relied on a telephone hotline backup system to keep flights going overnight. Daytime traffic early Wednesday morning overwhelmed the telephone backup system.
Nationwide, more than 1,100 domestic flights were canceled and close to 6,500 domestic flights were delayed Wednesday, according to FlightAware. About 45% of Southwest, 38% of American Airlines, 34% of Delta and 30% of United flights were delayed. Counting all travel within, into or out of the United States, FlightAware said more than 2,500 flights were canceled and nearly 16,000 had been held back.
“Southwest Airlines operations have resumed after the FAA lifted a nationwide air traffic ground stop and notified airlines that the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system is functional following an outage,” Chris Perry, a Southwest spokesperson, said in an emailed response. “As a result of the FAA’s outage, we anticipate some schedule adjustments will be made throughout the day.”
The issue comes just a couple of weeks after Southwest Airlines canceled thousands of flights in the days following Christmas, with the airline’s staffing and scheduling systems breaking down as a major cold snap enveloped the eastern two-thirds of the U.S.
Sacramento International, which relies heavily upon Southwest, was among the nation’s most heavily affected airports during the late December disruption.
The cause of Tuesday’s NOTAM system failure remains under investigation, but White House officials initially said there was no evidence of a cyberattack.
This story was originally published January 11, 2023 at 10:19 AM.
