An air traffic control computer issue caused hundreds of delays at Florida airports on Monday, the Federal Aviation Association said, disrupting flights during one of the busiest travel days in the holiday calendar.
The issue occurred at Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center and started causing delays at around 1 p.m., according to Greg Chin, spokesperson for Miami International Airport. By 6 p.m., it had been resolved, the FAA told USA TODAY.
“The FAA is working toward safely returning to a normal traffic rate in the Florida airspace,” the agency added.
The affected technology, the En Route Automation Modernization system, “is a modern computer system at the air traffic centers that handle en route traffic,” according to the FAA.
Miami’s hub carrier, American Airlines, has had more than 50 departures delayed due to the ERAM outage, Chin said.
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On Monday, American Airlines tweeted: “The ground stop for all Florida airports is affecting all carriers in and out of the area due to an issue at the MIA ATC control center.”
Flight operations are slowly returning to normal, but some are still experiencing delays.
According to FlightAware, Orlando International Airport saw 221 outbound flights and 246 inbound flights delayed. Fort Lauderdale International Airport had 186 outbound flights delayed and 152 inbound flights delayed.