Data glitch delays flights at several US carriers

Delta Airlines planes. Major US airlines experienced delays on April 1, 2019 following a glitch to a data system used in flight planning. FILE PHOTO | AFP

NEW YORK

Major US airlines experienced delays on Monday following a glitch to a data system used in flight planning.

The program, Aerodata, takes data on the weight and balance of the plane.

Airlines affected included Delta, United, JetBlue, Southwest and Alaska, said a spokesman for the Federal Aviation Administration, adding that mainline operations and regional service were affected to "varying degrees."

Passengers were encouraged to contact the carriers, the FAA spokesman said. The glitch was resolved this morning, he added.

Southwest had an "internal ground stop" for about 40 minutes due to the outage, a spokesman for the airline said, adding that the problem was resolved by 11:05 GMT.

"Scattered flight delays are expected and customers should check Southwest.com for the latest updates on specific flights," the Southwest spokesman said.