A computer error that caused two of the nation’s largest airlines to temporarily lose critical takeoff information forced flight delays Sunday for thousands of passengers nationwide.
Spokeswomen for the two affected airlines, American Airlines and US Airways, said all flights were halted after workers found a problem with their flight operation system about 6 a.m. Both airlines’ systems were restored before 9 a.m.
The flight operation system provides the airlines with vital information, such as the amount of fuel needed for a trip, the aircraft’s flight plan and even the food to be served.
“There was never a safety issue,” said Mary Frances Fagan, a spokeswoman in Chicago for American Airlines. “The good news is it happened on a Sunday morning.”
Flights in the air during the system shutdown had no problem landing because the computer trouble affected pre-departure operations, said Fagan, who represents Ft. Worth-based American.
Adding to the airlines’ problems Sunday was bad weather in the Northeast, which caused delays and cancellations, said Amy Kudwa, a spokeswoman for Arlington, Va.-based US Airways.
The computer error originated from the airlines’ flight operation system provider, Electronic Data Systems, a Texas company, said Jeff Baum, EDS’s vice president of external relations. An initial investigation revealed human error caused temporary loss of information, Baum said.
“Some information that was put into the system looked like it caused the error,” Baum said. “We have an aggressive re-evaluation to determine the source of the issue.”
This was the first time such an incident involving these two airlines has taken place, he said.
“I wouldn’t anticipate this happening again,” Baum said.
Earlier in the day, airline officials estimated delays of about one to two hours.
Although a majority of American’s 2,400 flights were affected Sunday, the airline’s spokesman Tim Wagner said most of the waits were “shortening” all the way to less than an hour. The airlines anticipated none of their passengers missing connecting flights because of the computer problem.
Both airlines agreed that thousands of their passengers were affected nationwide, including O’Hare International and Midway Airports. Most of those passengers at O’Hare seemed to be taking the extra wait in stride.
By 10 a.m., the number of people crowded into O’Hare’s Terminal 3, where American is located, appeared about normal for a Sunday morning, although there were small piles of luggage waiting to be processed.
“Technology is great when it works,” said Pamela Collings, a resident of New Zealand who expected to be delayed about 90 minutes for her flight to Los Angeles.
Tom Arcella, a New York City resident heading to San Diego for a vacation, said he was told his flight would be about an hour late.
“It will be one less drink by the pool,” he said.
But as the day wore on, a few were less forgiving, even though some flights were finally displaying “on-time” status.
“After about an hour, they told us what was going on,” said Sue Shaw, of Manitowoc, Wis., who plans to write a letter of complaint to the airline. “I think communication right up front would have been helpful. Their customer service was lacking.”
Kathy Fox of Austin, Texas, said the airline planned to pay for a hotel in Chicago after a mechanical problem and the computer trouble made her family missing its connection to Buffalo.
“I wish I had not gone through Chicago,” she said.
