Live updates: Lexington flight delays subside after FAA issue causes nationwide problems
Multiple flights out of Blue Grass Airport in Lexington were delayed Wednesday morning amid a systems issue encountered by the FAA.
The majority of flights scheduled to leave between 6 and 7 a.m. had been delayed by at least 20 minutes, according to the airport’s website, with one flight to Charlotte being delayed an hour and a half. The Federal Aviation Administration reported a nationwide outage to its Notice to Air Missions System, which affected airports nationwide.
“Operations across the National Airspace System are affected,” the FAA said in a tweet.
While the issue was resolved Wednesday morning and flights began taking off again, there were still lingering issues. Several Lexington flights were delayed or canceled later in the morning and early in the afternoon.
Here’s the latest we know about the issues and how it’s affecting Lexington flights.
Lexington flights back to normal on Thursday
8:20 a.m. - Flights coming in and out of Blue Grass Airport did not appear to have delays Thursday morning, according to the airport’s website.
Delays continuing at Blue Grass Airport
11 a.m. — Multiple arriving flights into the Blue Grass Airport are delayed, adding to the list of impacted flights from Wednesday morning’s nationwide outage of an FAA system.
Certain flights coming from Chicago, Charlotte and Atlanta are delayed, according to the airport’s website. Multiple departing flights are also delayed, including an United Airlines flight to Chicago that has been delayed for more than four hours. It was initially scheduled to depart at 7 a.m. but is now scheduled to depart at 11:30 a.m.
Latest delays, cancellations at Blue Grass Airport
9:15 a.m. — Two American Airlines flights from Blue Grass Airport heading to Charlotte and Philadelphia later Wednesday morning have been canceled, according to the airport’s website.
Three arriving flights, all associated with American Airlines, have also been canceled, according to the airport’s website. It’s unknown if the FAA’s system outage had any impact on the cancellations or not. American Airlines didn’t immediately provide clarification.
According to the airport’s website, three other flights are delayed and won’t take off until at least 9:30 a.m. A Delta flight heading to Atlanta at 3:07 p.m. today is also delayed.
Ground stop lifted, airports gradually resuming operations
8:50 a.m. — In its latest update, the FAA said the nationwide ground stop has been lifted and air traffic operations are gradually resuming operations.
The ground stop was the result of an overnight outage to the FAA’s Notice to Air Missions, which provides safety updates to flight crews. Multiple flights out of Lexington experienced delays as a result of the outage.
Blue Grass Airport: Delays may cause ripple effect
8:30 a.m. - Lauren White, the community relations manager for Blue Grass Airport, said Wednesday morning’s delays could be contributed to the FAA’s system issues. She said the delays could cause a ripple effect throughout the day.
“Our recommendation to passengers would be to download your airlines mobile app. This will assist passengers in staying up to date on their flight status and avoid arriving to the airport unnecessarily,” White said in an email.
FAA: Flights that already took off are safe to land
8:15 a.m. — Flights that have already taken off early Wednesday are safe to land despite a nationwide outage of an FAA system, the FAA said in a tweet. Blue Grass Airport did appear to have at least one flight that took off on time despite the issue.
Pilots are encouraged to check the system before taking off, as it could advise alerts about closed runways, equipment outages and other potential hazards along a flight route or at a location.
The FAA said it’s making progress in restoring its downed system and some flights out of Atlanta and Newark have departed due to congestion.
Departures nationwide are still expected to resume at 9 a.m., according to the FAA.
Airlines confirm delays. Lexington flights pushed back again
7:55 a.m. — Multiple airlines that operate out of Blue Grass Airport have confirmed the nationwide outage of an FAA system that’s causing widespread delays.
United Airlines said it has temporarily delayed all domestic flights, as advised by the FAA. One United flight out of Blue Grass Airport heading to Chicago has been delayed by at least an hour and-a-half after originally planning to take off at 7 a.m., according to the airport’s website.
American Airlines said it’s working with the FAA to minimize customer disruptions. Three American flights out of Blue Grass Airport are currently delayed, including a flight to Charlotte that was supposed to take off at 6 a.m. and is now delayed until at least 9:30 a.m., according to the airport’s website.
Cyberattack on down FAA system not initially suspected
7:39 a.m. — The nationwide outage of the FAA’s Notice to Air Missions System is not believed to have stemmed from a cyberattack, according to Karine Jean-Pierre, the White House Press Secretary
President Joe Biden has been briefed on the situation and has instructed the Department of Transportation to conduct an investigation, the press secretary said.
FAA tells airlines to pause all domestic flights
7:20 a.m. - Less than an hour after confirming the issue on Twitter, the FAA said it’s still working to restore its system and ordered all airlines to pause all domestic flights until 9 a.m.
The Blue Grass Airport’s departure board didn’t immediately reflect delays to 9 a.m., but one flight to Chicago had been pushed back to at least 8 a.m.
FAA still working to resolve issue, 1 flight left Lexington on time
7 a.m. - Just before 7 a.m. the FAA said it was still working to restore the system.
“While some functions are beginning to come back on line, National Airspace System operations remain limited,” The FAA said in a tweet.
A Delta flight traveling to Atlanta departed on time just before 7 a.m., according to a departure and arrival tracker on the airport’s website. Other flights that were delayed were eventually cleared from the airport’s departure board, though it’s unclear if they did depart.
This is a developing story and will be updated.
This story was originally published January 11, 2023 at 7:25 AM.
