No Severe Delays at MSP Airport

While an FAA computer glitch has some U.S. airports experiencing delays of more than an hour, delays at the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport have been limited to 15 minutes.

MSP airport spokesman Pat Hogan said Wednesday delays were averaging 15 minutes or less in Minneapolis.

The FAA says Chicago O'Hare is reporting delays between 15 minutes and 29 minutes. Washington airports are seeing delays of as long as an hour and a half, and delays are also being reported at airports in the New York area.

FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen told WNYW in New York that airport officials have been forced to manually file the flight plans and fax them in to a central location.

AirTran has canceled at least 22 flights and dozens more flights have been delayed as of 8 a.m. EST. Delta Air Lines also has big problems out of Atlanta.

FAA officials say the glitch does not affect safety.

An air traffic controller's union representative blames an outdated computer system.
National Air Traffic Controllers Association spokesman Barrett Byrnes says, "It's a nightmare. Had this happened next week (during the Thanksgiving holiday) it would have wreaked havoc."