[November 19, 2009] Flight data problems cause delays at TIA, other airports Tweet TAMPA, Nov 19, 2009 (Tampa Tribune - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- Airports including Tampa International are experiencing flight delays this morning as the Federal Aviation Administration is working on a problem processing flight plan information. The problems primarily are affecting flights serving Atlanta, Charlotte and Houston, Tampa airport officials said. "We are processing flight plans manually and expect some delays," FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said in Atlanta. "We have radar coverage and communications with planes." Tampa International remains open, but passengers are advised to check with their airlines -- not the airport -- for information on flight delays. Flights at St. Petersburg-Clearwater International Airport were not affected, an airport spokeswoman said. Tampa International operations personnel said the FAA became aware of a failure at 5:30 a.m. on its National Airspace System Data Interchange Network, which provides automated inputs of flight plans into the air traffic control system. As of 9 a.m., local FAA management told Tampa airport officials that some portion of the system was back up and they were receiving automated flight plans. The FAA advised those major trouble areas that will have or cause delay problems residue problems are Atlanta, Charlotte and Houston, spokeswoman Brenda Geoghagan said. The airlines that use these cities as hubs will incur more severe impacts to their schedules, she said. It was reported that Atlanta would resume operations between 9:30 a.m. and 10 a.m. As of 8:45 a.m., when the airport's communications center checked with airlines, the following delays were reported: --American Airlines, three departure delays. --AirTran, one departure delay. --Delta, three departure delays --JetBlue, two departure delays of 20 to 30 minutes in duration. --Southwest, five departure delays. --US Airways, all morning departures with delays of 30 to 70 minutes. Other airlines reported no problems or were not available for the airport's report. Flight plans are collected by the FAA for traffic nationwide at two centers Ac EUR " one in the Salt Lake City area and the other in the Atlanta area, Bergen said. She did not know which center was affected Thursday. In August 2008, a software malfunction delayed hundreds of flights around the country. In that episode, the Northeast was hardest hit by the delays prompted by a glitch at the Hampton, Ga., facility that processes flight plans for the eastern half of the United States. The FAA said at that time the source of the computer software malfunction was a "packet switch" that "failed due to a database mismatch." Information from The Associated Press was used in this report. To see more of the Tampa Tribune -- including its homes, jobs, cars and other classified listings -- or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.tampatrib.com. Copyright (c) 2009, Tampa Tribune, Fla. Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For reprints, email [email protected], call 800-374-7985 or 847-635-6550, send a fax to 847-635-6968, or write to The Permissions Group Inc., 1247 Milwaukee Ave., Suite 303, Glenview, IL 60025, USA. [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]