Airlines were grounded around the country Wednesday morning as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) wrestled with computer issues, and a Florida Senator wants to know why.
U.S. Sen. Rick Scott on Wednesday addressed the issue on Twitter, saying he expected answers not only from the FAA, but also from Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
“Safety is always the top priority, but leaving millions of travelers stranded and delayed to their destinations is not okay. I expect (the FAA) and (Buttigieg) to immediately provide a FULL briefing to Congress on what happened and how they will ensure it NEVER happens again,” Scott urged.
The Senator’s demand for accountability comes as flights have now resumed, but the FAA has not yet offered insight as to why the computer issue happened to begin with.
“Normal air traffic operations are resuming gradually across the U.S. following an overnight outage to the Notice to Air Missions system that provides safety info to flight crews. The ground stop has been lifted. We continue to look into the cause of the initial problem,” the FAA News account tweeted Wednesday shortly before 9 a.m.
The progress in restoring the Notice to Air Missions system has been gradual throughout the morning. Flights resumed from Newark and Atlanta airports first, with the FAA offering assurances that the computer issues wouldn’t affect airplane safety.
“All flights currently in the sky are safe to land. Pilots check the NOTAM system before they fly. A Notice to Air Missions alerts pilots about closed runways, equipment outages, and other potential hazards along a flight route or at a location that could affect the flight,” the FAA tweeted earlier Wednesday morning.
Though the issue appears to be solved, many travelers were affected earlier in the day. The Associated Press notes that more than 3,700 flights were delayed, with more than 640 cancellations.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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