Computer glitch causes delays at Roanoke Regional Airport

A computer glitch caused delays and cancellations at airports all across the country Thursday including in Roanoke.

The FAA says the problem affected air traffic control computers for about four hours Thursday morning, grounding hundreds of flights.

Air traffic controllers were forced to type out complicated flight plans, which slowed the system down.

Travelers spent the day at Roanoke Regional Airport with their heads tilted up, keeping a constant eye on the constantly changing flight schedules.

Waiting to fly to Washington D.C. to catch a connector, Carroll Lilly spent most of the morning double-checking her tickets.

“[I] didn’t hear anything about it until it was on the radio, and we heard something about it, and it was like uh oh,“ Lilly said.

Lilly was trying to get home Thursday before her mom’s special birthday.

“She’s going to be 90,“ Lilly said.

Many passengers didn’t find out about the problem until they were sitting in the airport.

Rosyln Katz was told at check-in.

“She informed me it was going to be at least an hour wait, maybe more,“ Katz said.  “I didn’t call before I came.“

Sherry Wallace with Roanoke Regional says this is bad timing for an FAA computer glitch.

“We are also about to approach what’s our busy part of the Thanksgiving weekend, which means starting tomorrow through the weekend, there won’t be a lot of extra seats to accommodate people, so the airlines are trying very hard to get everybody out today,“ Wallace said.

The FAA problems weren’t the only issues passengers were dealing with Thursday.  There were also weather cancellations for anyone flying in or out of Philadelphia.

“They’re not having a good day at the FAA today,“ Wallce said.

Despite the delays, everyone seemed to be in good spirits.

“[It’s OK] as long as I get home tonight before her party,“ Lilly said.

“There’s nothing I can do about it as long as I have a book I can read,“ Katz said.

Thankfully most passengers got where they were going – better late than never.