Early on Monday, several U.S. airlines experienced system outages due to a technical glitch in a shared computer program, authorities said. The Aerodata program -- which monitors balance and weight of flights -- crashed for a short time. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said several carriers were affected by the outage, including American, Delta, United, Southwest and Alaska Air. Dallas-based Southwest issued a ground stop order for a short time.
The FAA wrote in a traveler alert early Monday: "Several U.S. airlines are experiencing computer issues this morning. Please contact your airline directly for flight information and updates. The FAA does not cancel flights." The Aerodata program was back online by 7:30 a.m. EDT, and the airlines said their operations had resumed normally. The problem caused delays at U.S. airports, but no flights were canceled.
