Tag Archives: Airline

New computer glitch delays United Airlines flights

Computer glitch downs the planes

By Ingrid Melander and Tim Hepher

PARIS (Reuters) – Thousands of passengers were delayed worldwide after a computer glitch temporarily halted departures at United Airlines, the latest in a series of outages to affect rival companies in the industry.

“Earlier tonight we experienced an issue with our weight reporting system, which caused system wide flight delays,” the airline said in a statement on its Twitter feed late on Thursday in the United States.

“We have resolved the issue and are working to get customers to their destinations as soon as possible. We apologize for the inconvenience.”

Passengers said they had been forced to wait onboard planes or inside terminals as flights were delayed for several hours.

“On the plane for more than an hour, away from the gate and no communication. What’s happening?,” one passenger tweeted.

In Paris, passengers complained as check-in lines grew for a flight to New York, a Reuters reporter said on Friday morning.

The airline said the problem had been resolved as of 3 a.m. eastern time (0700 GMT) on Friday.

It is the third computer glitch to hit United’s owner United Continental Holdings in recent months and the latest in a series of problems that have tested the reliance on technology of some of the world’s largest carriers.

On June 2, software needed to dispatch United’s flight plan briefly lost functionality.

In July, the same airline’s flights were disrupted after a computer problem blocked access to reservations records.

The following month, Delta Air Lines canceled hundreds of flights and delayed many others after a power outage hit its computer systems.

And in September, a system-wide computer problem at British Airways caused significant delays.

After the two previous incidents, United Continental Holdings said in July it had invested in backup plans.

But multiple recent outages have prompted some experts and passenger groups to question whether the airline industry has invested enough in technological infrastructure, given new profits from baggage and cancellation fees.

(Reporting by Ingrid Melander, Tim Hepher; Editing by Keith Weir)

Ebola Patient Took Flight With Fever

One of the signs of Ebola infection is a fever.

Yet the CDC allowed the latest American to be infected with the virus to fly on an airplane after showing a low-grade fever.

The Centers for Disease Control admits they allowed Amber Vinson of Dallas to fly from Cleveland to Dallas with a fever of 99.5.

“Although she did not report any symptoms and she did not meet the fever threshold of 100.4, she did report at that time she took her temperature and found it to be 99.5,” said CDC Director Tom Frieden. “I don’t think that changes the level of risk of people around her.  She did not vomit, she was not bleeding, so the level of risk of people around her would be extremely low.”

However, the CDC is contacting everyone who was on the flight about their possible exposure to Ebola.

“Those who have exposures to Ebola, she should not have traveled on a commercial airline,” said Dr. Frieden. “The CDC guidance in this setting outlines the need for controlled movement. That can include a charter plane; that can include a car; but it does not include public transport. We will from this moment forward ensure that no other individual who is being monitored for exposure undergoes travel in any way other than controlled movement.”

The plane was used for five additional flights before it was taken out of service.

Iceland Warns Massive Volcano Under Glacier Might Erupt

Icelandic officials are warning airlines worldwide that one of the world’s largest volcanoes is likely in the process of erupting.

The volcano alert level of Bardarbunga has been raised to “orange” which means “heightened or escalating unrest with increased potential of eruption” according to Iceland’s volcanic scale.  The Met Office, located in the capital city of Reykjavik, says that over 250 tremors have been recorded since midnight local time.

The volcano is 15.5 miles wide and rises about 6200 feet above sea level.  The volcano last erupted in 1996, melting the glacier above it and spewing ash and molten lava.

Iceland’s last major eruption, the 2011 Grimsvotn volcanic event, caused flight cancellations across Scotland, England and Germany because of volcanic ash in the atmosphere.  The massive Eyjafjallajokull volcanic eruption in 2010 caused over 100,000 flights in Europe and across the Atlantic to be cancelled out of fear of glass particles from the eruption damaging aircraft engines.

FAA Bans U.S. Airlines from Flying Over Iraq

All U.S. airlines are now required to have authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration or another U.S. governmental agency before flying in the airspace above Iraq.

All flights are prohibited “due to the potentially hazardous situation created by the armed conflict” according to the agency.

The announcement came after two airstrikes that targeted the Islamic State militants outside of Erbil.

Officials stated that the FAA’s ban will be reevaluated by the end of the year.

FAA Orders American Airlines To Stop Flying To Israel

Every American airline company was banned from flying into Israel’s main airport because of a Hamas rocket that fell near the airport grounds.

The Federal Aviation Administration issued the edict around noon Tuesday, leaving thousands of Americans and Israelis unable to travel to the Holy Land.

“At 12:15 EDT on July 22, 2014, the FAA issued a Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) informing U.S. airlines that they are prohibited from flying to or from Israel’s Ben Gurion International Airport for a period of up to 24 hours,” read the alert posted on the FAA website.  “The notice was issued in response to a rocket strike which landed approximately one mile from Ben Gurion International Airport on the morning of July 22, 2014.  The NOTAM applies only to U.S. operators, and has no authority over foreign airlines operating to or from the airport.”

Strangely, edicts like this have not been issued for ongoing war zones such as Syria or Iraq.

Over 160 flights were cancelled into Ben Gurion Airport.

German airline Lufthansa announced they would be cancelling flights into the airport for at least two days after the FAA’s order.

China Plans Global Network of Surveillance Satellites

Chinese officials have confirmed they are looking at a proposal to create a network of satellites that would allow them to spy on any part of the planet.

The system is reportedly gaining a boost because of the missing Malaysian Airlines flight that has eluded any search efforts.  Several members of the Chinese leadership say a Chinese operated worldwide surveillance network would have found the aircraft.

“If we had a global monitoring network today, we wouldn’t be searching in the dark,” a source told Australia’s News Limited.  “We would have a much greater chance to find the plane and trace it to its final position.”

The current Chinese satellite system reportedly only allows the country to spy on their nation and surrounding countries.  However, the proposed system would be so detailed and significantly upgraded in technology to current systems that it would place China ahead of the United States in global surveillance.

If the government goes ahead with funding the plan, the network could be in place and operational within two years.

Malaysia Airlines Flight Flying Hundreds Of Miles Off Course

Military officials are now releasing radar information that shows the missing Malaysia Airlines flight likely was flown hundreds of miles off course leading investigators to believe foul play was the cause of the disappearance.

The military track shows the plane turned west after leaving Malaysia on a corridor that is usually seen for flights that would be heading to the Middle East.

Aviation experts say the path of the flight was carrying it between navigational waypoints leaving it undetected to most of the current systems in place to track aircraft.  The flight was tracked by military radar off the country’s northwest coast, hundreds of miles from the scheduled flight path.

Military investigators say that shows the pilots of the craft had knowledge of the navigational waypoints.

A senior Malaysian police official said sabotage or hijack are now being considered as the likely reasons for the plane’s sudden change in course.

Missing Airliner May Have Been Miles Off Course

Malaysian military says that a Malaysian Airlines flight that disappeared on Saturday night could have been miles off course over the Strait of Malacca rather than over the open ocean.

The military also says that it appears the two men who boarded the flight using stolen passports were not terrorists but men fleeing Iran to ask for asylum in Europe.  Officials would not say if terrorism was still a focus of the investigation.

The last day has proven to cause more questions than answers as searchers discovered the oil slicks found in the ocean were not connected to the flight.  They also discovered that some of the debris that was thought to be parts of the aircraft is nothing more than flotsam that had gathered together.

The U.S. Navy has sent ships and at least three search and rescue helicopters into the area to try and find debris or survivors.

The airline has reportedly offered $3,000 to the family members of everyone on the flight while saying they were not going to stop rescue efforts.

Dual Volcanoes Erupt In Indonesia

Two volcanoes in Indonesia have erupted sending thousands fleeing and destroying entire crops.

Mount Sinabung first erupted Thursday in the early morning hours sending a plume of ash 23,000 feet into the air in the Karo region of North Sumatra. The mountain then erupted again just before noon with an ash plume that rose 16,400 feet.

Government officials rushed at least 5,500 residents away from the area.

Then today Mount Sinabung was the second Indonesia volcano to erupt in a span of hours. Mount Merapi exploded just before 5 a.m. local time send a plume of ash 6500 feet into the air. Hours later, Mount Sinabung erupted stronger than ever with an ash cloud rising 26,500 feet into the air.

The Indonesian Transportation Ministry has issued a statement to all airlines telling them to avoid the airspace surrounding the volcanoes because of the ash and their current instability.

The ash from the volcanoes has destroyed the crops of farmers surrounding the mountain who depend on their crops to live. A local farmer told the Jakarta Globe the losses to farmers in the region could end up in the billions. He said some of the farm land has been so damaged by the volcanoes they can no longer be used for farming.

Indonesia is located on the Pacific Ring of Fire.