Federal Aviation Administration lifts grounding order for all departing US flights

By AP 11 January 2023, 4:13 pm

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Passengers check in at Southwest Airlines' self serve kiosks at Chicago's Midway Airport as flight delays stemming from a computer outage at the Federal Aviation Administration has brought flights to a standstill across the US Wednesday, Jan. 11, 2023, in Chicago. (AP Photo/Charles Rex Arbogast)

The Federal Aviation Administration is lifting a ground stop on flights across the US following a computer outage early today that results in thousands of delays quickly cascading through the system at airports nationwide.

Earlier in the morning the FAA ordered all US flights to delay departures until at least 9 a.m. EST. Due to heavy congestion, the FAA cleared flights to depart at Newark Liberty and Atlanta Hartsfield-Jackson airports. The agency said that normal air traffic operations were resuming gradually across the US following the outage.

More than 3,700 flights were delayed and more than 640 were canceled early in the day.

The FAA says that it is continuing to look into the cause of the initial problem.