When the FAA makes a boo-boo, fliers are the ones who pay.

August 30, 2008 – 2:29 am – No Comment

Wednesday the FAA said a computer glitch caused flight delays across the country. Many flights at the largest airports in the country were delayed by an hour and half or more. Why? The main computer system for the FAA, located outside Atlanta went offline. The backup located in Salt Lake City kicked on, but couldn’t handle the traffic.

The FAA is launching an investigation into why the glitch occurred, but couldn’t find the culprit as of today.

So after paying ridiculous prices for tickets, fliers have to be forced to be stuck in an airport waiting for the FAA to fix a problem that should have never happened in the first place. Back up systems should be held to the same standards that main systems endure on a day to day basis. What if one airplane had to go out of service due to a malfunction, then the back up plane looked like something that wouldn’t roll down the runway, let alone fly? Standards should be upheld for all systems.