Hundreds of Southwest Airlines flights are delayed after FAA lifts nationwide ground stop
The flight delays were caused by data connection issues due to a firewall failure.
CNN
Southwest Airlines reported flight delays on Tuesday morning due to "data connection issues caused by a firewall failure," a problem which led to a short ground stop.
Federal Aviation Administration lifted ground stop on Southwest Airlines flights, after issuing an order earlier citing "equipment problems." Southwest Airlines confirmed that it has resumed its operations in a tweet sent at 11:35 am.
In a press release, Dan Landson, the spokesman for the company, said that 'early this morning, an external firewall failed and a connection to operational data was lost unexpectedly'.
FlightAware reports that Southwest had delayed 1,728 of its scheduled flights, or 41%. FlightAware reports that the airline only canceled nine flights on February 2. Southwest claims that its employees 'worked rapidly to minimize disruptions,' and it has resumed operation.
The FAA reports that there was a hold-up on flights to Dallas Love Field Airport. The pause may have caused other flight delays.
In a CNN statement, the FAA said that Southwest Airlines had requested the FAA to halt the airline's departures.
Southwest Airlines reported technology problems Tuesday morning, and stated that it hoped to resume its operation as soon a possible.
These problems occur months after the airline had to cancel 16,700 flights from December 20-29, roughly half of its schedule. The airline blamed the meltdown partly on changes made to its computer system for staff scheduling. Southwest announced a 'action plan" last month to prevent another operational breakdown.
Southwest referred to the issue as 'intermittent technological issues' in an online post for customers. Many people have complained about flight delays on social media.
The airline apologized for any inconvenience caused, but hoped to get everyone moving as soon as possible.