UPDATED AT 9 AM EST

Flights across the United States are delayed Wednesday morning as the result of a computer failure at the Federal Aviation Administration. The affected system, NOTAMS (Notice to Air Missions) is responsible for sending out flight hazards and real time restrictions to pilots.

An initial statement released by the agency reads:

“THE FAA is experiencing an outage that is impacting the update of NOTAMS. All flights are unable to be released at this time.”

FAA OUTAGE ✈️ 🚨

An @FAANews advisory says a system failure is impacting flights nationwide. Reports coming in that flights are grounded everywhere.

Techs are working to restore the system but there’s no timeframe for when that could happen. @WFTV pic.twitter.com/F6rqIm163s

— Alexa Lorenzo (@ALorenzoTV) January 11, 2023

The latest ATCSC advisory says that the “outage continues with no current estimated time of restoration.”

However, the FAA has released a statement that the agency is “performing final validation checks and repopulating the system” as of 6:24 AM Eastern time, and that they “will provide frequent updates” as progress is made.

FAA statement: The FAA is working to restore its Notice to Air Missions System. We are performing final validation checks and repopulating the system now.
Operations across the National Airspace System are affected.
We will provide frequent updates as we make progress.

— David Wyllie (@journodave) January 11, 2023

A quick check of the term “FAA” on Twitter reveals how widespread the problem is, with many travelers venting frustration at Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg.

UPDATE, 8 AM EST

The FAA has ordered airlines to “pause all domestic departures” until 9 AM EST, but since the agency is still validating that the system has, indeed, been fixed, that time frame could possibly change.

Update 3: The FAA is still working to fully restore the Notice to Air Missions system following an outage.⁰⁰The FAA has ordered airlines to pause all domestic departures until 9 a.m. Eastern Time to allow the agency to validate the integrity of flight and safety information.

— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) January 11, 2023

UPDATE 9 AM EST

The FAA reports that “normal air traffic operations are resuming gradually across the U.S.”

Update 5: 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 ✈️ (@FAANews) January 11, 2023

(This is a developing story. We will post updated stories as the situation changes.)