Network failure delays flights across U.S.

A network failure at a Georgia facility is being blamed for multiple flight delays across the eastern United States, including flights departing from major Northeastern cities such as Boston, New York and Washington, D.C.

FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen has told the Associated Press that there are currently no safety issues and that airport officials have been able to maintain contact with pilots both on the ground and in the air.

While Bergen says she doesn’t know how many flights are currently being affected, the FAA’s Web site shows that flights from all across the Northeastern seaboard, from Maine down to Virginia, are being delayed at their departure points.

Flights from Boston’s Logan Airport to Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Washington, New York, Orlando and Tampa are currently being delayed by more than 45 minutes, according to Logan Airport.

The FAA says that the facility in Georgia is primarily responsible for processing flight plans for the Eastern half of the United States and that the problems are being caused by a communication failure between the Georgia facility and a similar processing facility in Utah.