FAA using 30 years old NOTAM software system, was responsible for over 10,000 flight delays in the US

The Federal Aviation Administration system software that grounded over 1300 flights across the USA has been around since the 1990s and will not be upgraded for another 6 years, reports IANS.

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The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) software bug that grounded thousands of aircraft earlier this week is at least 30 years old and won't be upgraded for another 6 years, according to reports in the media on Friday. Over 10,000 flights into and out of the US were delayed, and over 1,300 were cancelled on Wednesday as a result of a significant statewide technical issue. According to a report in CNN, the FAA software that failed to cause more than 10k+ flight delays is "30 years old and at least 6 years away from being updated".

"The core operating system for the database has been around since the 1990s. Regardless of the improvements made to the system in recent years, it still has the heart of an 89-year-old man, a government source was quoted as saying in the report.

The aviation body also said that the "personnel who failed to follow procedures" caused the computer system failure. The FAA is "stuck addressing new technology, including drones and electric helicopters, with its outdated technology".

The disruption was due to a "damaged database file," reports earlier quoted the FAA as saying, adding that "at this time, there is no evidence of a cyber attack." Airports nationwide were affected, from Denver to Atlanta to New York City. The technical issues marked the first time in nearly two decades that flights across the US were grounded. President Joe Biden called for a "full investigation," according to the White House press secretary.

With inputs IANS