Baltimore Flights Among Hardest Hit By FAA Technical Problem

WASHINGTON (WJZ/AP) --The Federal Aviation Administration says an "automation problem" that snarled air traffic throughout a large swatch of the Northeast stretching from New York down to the Carolinas has been resolved.

Service is back up and running, but delays continue. Some passengers tell WJZ their layover was more than 12 hours, others said they didn't know when they would board the plane.

WJZ's Amy Yensi has the latest.

BWI was at a standstill on Saturday afternoon when an automation problem leaves planes and travelers stuck at the airport.

"It's not nearly as fun flying somewhere wonderful for two hours, but we're making do," said one traveler.

There were similar wait times at airports throughout the Northeast. Arriving and departing flights by all three major airports in the Maryland-Washington region were either canceled or delayed following Saturday's incident.

The agency was investigating an automation problem at an air traffic center in Leesburg, Virginia, FAA spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said. Information posted online by the FAA indicated there was a problem with the En Route Automation Modernization computer system, also known as ERAM.

The FAA spent Saturday afternoon working to restart the service.

"I've been on this line for 2 hours since I got to the airport. I got a call when I was about 15 minutes outside the airport that my flight was delayed 3 and a half hours. So it looks like I'm sleeping in Phoenix tonight," said Seth Maiman, who was headed to Los Angeles.

Passengers who check their bags before the outage wait in even longer lines to reclaim them.

"No luggage. No makeup. No curling iron. I have all my medication in my bags and stuff," said another traveler.

Around 8:00 p.m. Saturday, BWI said conditions were running a little more normal, but to expect delays as many flights were canceled and passengers are re-booked.

Some passengers tell WJZ that because this is an FAA issue, they're not able to get a credit from the airline.

The FAA says it's continuing to investigate the root cause of the problem.

Passengers are advised to check with their airline for updated flight status information.