Bay Area Airports Feel Impact Of Regional Computer Glitch
April 30--SAN JOSE -- Bay Area airports were dealing with residual delays after computer problems forced planes to be grounded at several Los Angeles-area airports Wednesday afternoon.
San Jose International Airport spokeswoman Cheryl Marcell said Wednesday afternoon that the Federal Aviation Administration had put a "ground stop" on departures due to a major computer system glitch. As a result, the San Jose airport has already experienced roughly six delays, Marcell said, and more were expected.
"We're ready," she said. "A lot of our flights go to and from southern California. We have alerted the airport staff."
At San Francisco International Airport, flights to and from southern California were also halted as crews in Los Angeles worked to restore the computer issue, airport spokesman Doug Yakel said.
Yakel added that delays were anywhere between 45 minutes to an hour -- about as long as the "ground stop" had been issued -- and that once the FAA gave the all clear, the airport would work to resume normal service.
SFO would be receiving one international flight that was headed to Los Angeles International Airport -- a flight from Madrid, Spain -- and was due to land at the Bay Area airport around 4:30 p.m. After the lift, the plane was expected to makes it way down to Los Angeles.
It is unknown what caused the computer problem, according to LAX spokeswoman Nancy Castles. An FAA spokesman did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
There were also delays at the Bob Hope Airport in Burbank and at John Wayne International Airport in Santa Ana.
Los Angeles International is the nation's third-busiest airport.
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The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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