Major FAA computer failure grounds flights at Bush, across nation: 'We continue to look into the cause of the initial problem'

Departing flights from Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport (IAH) on Wednesday were among the thousands nationwide that were affected by a major Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) computer failure. 

An ABC News story that was run by Houston affiliate KTRK reported that the system outage prompted the FAA to impose a ground stop that delayed morning takeoffs for domestic flights from San Francisco to Boston. 

The federal agency said the ground stop “has been lifted,” ABC News reported. 

"We continue to look into the cause of the initial problem,” the FAA tweeted.

IAH’s Twitter account had advised travelers to expect delays as the FAA worked through the outage, directing them to verify the status of their flights before coming to the airport. 

“Flight delays are still possible,” IAH tweeted after the end of the ground stop. “Don't hesitate to contact your airline for the latest flight information if you are traveling today.”

Citing The Associated Press (AP), Houston NBC affiliate KPRC reported that the White House said it’s unlikely the system failures were caused by a cyberattack. 

Per the report, President Joe Biden has directed the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) to conduct an investigation. 

About 5,000 flights were delayed while 900 others were cancelled, the AP reported.

The nationwide ground stop occurred approximately two weeks after a combination of severe winter weather and purportedly dated technology forced low-cost carrier Southwest Airlines (SWA) to cancel thousands of flights during the busy Christmas travel season. 

National Public Radio (NPR) reported that the crisis could cause SWA to hemorrhage as much as $825 million.