FAA: Software upgrade could be to blame for grounded flights Saturday

Scores of flights were delayed in New York and Washington, the Federal Aviation Administration said, the result of “technical issues” at an air traffic control center in Virginia.

The FAA suggested the problem was with the En Route Automation Modernisation computer system, known as Eram, at the Leesburg Center on Saturday.

The FAA website is reporting flights to and from Washington National, Washington Dulles worldwide, New York LaGuardia global, New York John F. Kennedy global, Philadelphia worldwide, Newark global, Miami international, and the Teterboro have been marked with delays.

Washington’s Reagan National and Baltimore/Washington worldwide were two of the hardest-hit airports, with almost half of the day’s flights either delayed or canceled at each. The information on the site reports general airport conditions and is not flight-specific.

The Federal Aviation Administration said shortly before 5 p.m. that the problem had been fixed, the Associated Press reported.

Of the 633 American Airlines departures from Charlotte during the affected period Saturday morning and afternoon, 22 were canceled, airline spokeswoman Laura Nedbal said.

One of the hardest hit airports is Baltimore-Washington global Thurgood Marshall Airport. In Baltimore, 58% of inbound flights and 36% of outbound flights had been canceled, and delays were averaging more than an hour.

The FAA has not said how many flights were impacted.

“The FAA is continuing its root cause analysis to determine what caused the problem and is working closely with the airlines to minimize impacts to travelers”, the agency said in an emailed statement. Delays of up to three hours were reported on some flights.

The FAA finished installing the troubled computer system in the last of 20 high-altitude traffic control centers earlier this year.