US agency says communication glitch stalls flights

Posted 08 27 2008 4:57PM

ATLANTA - The Federal Aviation Administration said a communication failure Tuesday at a facility that processes flight plans for the eastern half of the U.S. was causing flight delays around the U.S.

An FAA Web site that posts airport status information showed delays at some three dozen major airports coast-to-coast, advising passengers to "check your departure airport to see if your flight may be affected."

FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen in Atlanta said there are no safety issues and officials are still able to speak to pilots on planes on the ground and in the air.

She said she does not know how many flights are being affected.

Bergen said the problem that occurred Tuesday involves an FAA facility south of Atlanta that processes flight plans. She said there was a failure in a communication link that transmits the data to a similar facility in Salt Lake City.

As a result, the Salt Lake City facility was having to process those flight plans, causing delays in planes taking off. She said there were no problems with planes landing.

"There will be flight delays," Bergen said. "It could be any location, because one facility is now processing flight data for everybody."