Technical issues ground RDU flights, thousands delayed
RALEIGH-DURHAM AIRPORT (WTVD) -- Thousands of travelers at Raleigh Durham International Airport faced flight delays Saturday due to technical issues at an air traffic center in Leesburg, Va.
The Federal Aviation Administration said an "automation problem" that snarled air traffic throughout a large swatch of the Northeast stretching from New York to RDU has been resolved.
On Sunday, the FAA released the following statement:
The FAA is working with the airlines to resume normal air traffic operations after an automation problem yesterday led to delays and cancellations at airports in the Washington, DC area. Preliminary information from yesterday indicates 492 related delays and 476 cancellations. The FAA reduced the arrival and departure rates in the area from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. for safety reasons. That resulted in about 70 percent of the average normal Saturday traffic at BWI, 72 percent at DCA, and 88 percent at IAD. The FAA is continuing to diagnose the cause of yesterday's problem, and has not seen a reoccurrence of the original issues.
The agency said that a computer system at an air traffic center in Leesburg, Va., that controllers use to direct high-altitude flights was back in service, and that officials were expected to have lifted any remaining order to hold planes on the ground by about 4 p.m. EDT.
The problem has been resolved and flights are slowly resuming. The FAA says they're trying to find out what caused the issue and is working closely with airlines to minimize the impacts on travelers.
The FAA said the problem was not a result of a hack or an accident.
Haddie Kiernan is one of the of thousands of travelers who saw their flights cancelled.
"We didn't know about it for a while," she said "They just kept saying the computers were down."
She was supposed to start her voyage from the Triangle to Africa and her next shot to get on the international flight is Monday.
"There's only a couple of flights a week that are out that are going to arrive in Sierra Leone so if you miss it you're stuck," she said.
People were scrambling to rebook their flights. From counter-to-counter, there were long waits and lots of frustration.
"There's a lot of angry people in that line," said traveler Lindsey Freehill.
"I've never seen this and they wouldn't even let me check my bags," said traveler Holly Johnson.
Some people were stuck at RDU for hours. Others bounced between airline carriers trying to get the first flight out.
"I've strolled through my Instagram feed five times. There's nothing to do," said traveler Taylor Hock.
"They transferred us to United because our first flight was delayed, and then the United flight got cancelled. So we trying to switch from United back to Delta," said traveler Hannah Minnick.
RDU official have helped half a dozen stranded travelers, like Kiernan, with hotel accommodations.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
