DALLAS — Flights to Florida airports may be delayed for several hours on Monday afternoon as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has reduced the number of flights to Florida due to an air traffic computer issue that is as of this moment being resolved.
A spokesperson for the FAA told local media that the issue had to deal with the "En Route Automation Modernization" system, also known as ERAM. The system, which debuted in March 2015, assists air traffic controllers in managing the number of flights in the sky and avoiding potential problems. What exactly happened with that system is unknown.
However, Florida airports have stated on social media that flights are departing and arriving, but may be delayed. According to the FAA's National Airspace System Status website, some airports were reporting delays ranging from 15 minutes to 90 minutes - and increasing.
Travelers have reported waiting in line for hours for rebooked flights, purchasing hotels, or renting cars to get to their destinations. Southwest Airlines (WN) has stated that reasonable reimbursement requests for airline tickets, hotels, rental cars, and meals would be considered.
Ground Stop
A Ground Stop (GS) is a traffic management initiative (TMI) that requires aircraft to remain on the ground at their origin airport if certain criteria are met. The GS could be airport-specific, geographically related, or equipment-specific. Ground stops are regarded as the most restrictive of the TMIs.
When air traffic control is unable to safely accommodate additional aircraft in the system, ground stops are implemented, and traffic managers must decide which flights will be captured in the stop. This refers to the scope of the ground stop. According to the NBAA, "Scope can be defined by distance, by center, or by tier." See Scope of Traffic Management Initiatives (TMIs) for more information.
A ground stop is always given an update time in addition to scope information. At this time, the stop will be re-evaluated and either extended or canceled. However, in cases such as the one at Florida airports, it is not immediately clear how long a ground stop will be needed. Ground stops are most commonly used for:
- Severely reduced capacity situations such as:
- Weather below user arrival minima
- Severe weather reducing usable routes
- Major equipment outages
- Catastrophic events
- Precluding extended periods of airborne holding
- Precluding sectors from reaching saturation levels
- Precluding airports from reaching gridlock
Update
According to Florida ATC, the computer issue has been resolved, and the FAA is working toward “safely returning to a normal traffic rate in the Florida airspace.”
Featured image: Miami International Airport. Photo: Miami-Dade Aviation Department
.avif)