Flights to Florida were halted due to traffic problems

Shortly after 1pm on Monday, social media began to abound with reports that flights heading into Florida were stopped or cancelled.

The FAA told WESH 2 Monday: “The FAA has slowed traffic volume into Florida airspace due to an air traffic data issue that is being resolved … The ERAM system is a modern data system at the air traffic control centers that handles en-route traffic.”

Miami International Airport stated that there was a nationwide ground stop to and from Florida due to a “radar data link failure.”

“It has been resolved and aircraft are slowly being allowed to depart,” the statement said.

The hiccups had a far-reaching impact, with delays from Florida airports piling up.

Orlando International Airport released the following statement on Twitter:

“Due to an FAA control plan in place to help manage air traffic in Florida, including the MCO, some flights may be affected. While we do not have major impacts at this time, we encourage passengers to contact their airlines with questions.”

More than 162,000 people were expected to come through Orlando International Airport on Monday, the busiest of this holiday period.

They not only deal with travel noise, but also a computer error.

Flights across the state were either delayed or canceled due to a problem with air traffic computers.

According to FlightAware, there were 506 delays and 53 cancellations at OIA.

The Federal Aviation Administration says it’s resolved now, but a problem with air traffic computers caused a mess of delays and cancellations at Florida airports, including OIA.

Lauren Hannigan is on her way to Columbus, Ohio, but her flight is delayed.

“I’m facing a delay, a very long delay of about three hours,” Hannigan said.

“About 50 minutes,” said Joshua Harrison, a student at Winona State University in Minnesota.

“So we’ve got about six hours to kill, now I think we’re going back to 7:42, but it’s been tough,” said passenger Allie Perry.

“How rough?” asked Gail Paschall-Brown of WESH 2.

“Very rough. We don’t know what to do,” Perry said.

It was about ERAM, which is the En-route Automation Modernization System at air traffic centers that handle traffic en route.

The FAA had to reduce air traffic into Florida’s airspace on Monday, causing delays and cancellations at airports across the state.

“I’m just going to wait and hope my plane takes off,” Hannigan said.

“There’s not much you can do but wait right?” Paschall-Brown said.

“Right or shop or eat or whatever,” Hannigan said.

“Not much we can do about it,” Harrison said.

“Are you going to be fine with school and everything, hopefully get back to school on time?

“Yes, we (scheduled) the flight early in case there were problems,” Harrison said.

The FAA says it is working toward a safe return to normal air traffic in Florida.

Meanwhile, officials at Orlando International heard from operations that all flight activity is back to normal, but warned passengers to check with their airlines with questions or concerns.

The FAA said the problem was with the En Route Automation Modernization (ERAM) system at the Miami Air Route Traffic Control Center.

The FAA says the center is responsible for controlling millions of cubic miles of airspace for commercial flights over Florida.

The problem is solved.