LAX, other SoCal airports impacted by FAA temporary grounding order

The Federal Aviation Authority lifted an order on flights in the United States around 6 a.m. Wednesday after a system failure caused thousands of delays at airports across the country, including airports in Southern California.

According to FlightAware, a flight tracking website, as of 7:30 a.m., more than 6,000 were delayed by multiple airlines within, into or out of the country.

Several airports reported delays to their Southern California flight schedules, although spokesmen for the various airports said early Wednesday they may have been spared the brunt of the impact because their airports have limited activity or were closed when the system outage hit.

At Los Angeles International Airport, about 12% of the flight schedule was affected by delays as of 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, said Heath Montgomery, an airport spokesman. Seven flights were canceled and 167 return flights experienced delays ranging from 15 minutes to around two hours or more.

“It’s that very first group of flights that’s affected,” Montgomery said, adding that timing is important. The airport has limited activity between midnight and 5 a.m., he said.

“It’s looking pretty good overall right now,” Montgomery said. But he added: “It’s going to be up and down throughout the day, we know there will be an impact throughout the day.”

Ontario International Airport reported nine departures and 12 arrivals with delays of between 30 and 40 minutes, Ontario Airport spokesman Steve Lambert said. Southwest, Alaska, United and Hawaiian airlines included disruptions, he said.

“We don’t have any early morning flights, so we probably weren’t affected that badly,” Lambert said.

Curfews at John Wayne Airport and Long Beach Airport have also spared the facilities from the brunt of the outage, airport spokesmen said.

Nevertheless, the locations felt the disturbances.

Two outbound flights were canceled at Long Beach Airport, likely because of the cancellation, said Kate Kuykendall, an airport spokeswoman, adding there could be additional delays.

John Wayne Airport also reported minimal disruption early Wednesday. The first outbound flight leaves at 7 a.m., airport spokeswoman AnnaSophia Servin said.

“All flights take off this morning [from John Wayne] can depart as planned,” said Servin. There were “several delays” in arrival, but the number is likely to fluctuate throughout the day, Servin said.

Hollywood Burbank Airport had eight cancellations and six late arrivals as of 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, spokesman Mike Christensen said in a text.

The FAA had ordered all departing flights grounded early Wednesday morning, but lifted that order shortly before 6 a.m. after several hours.

The flight bans affected almost all aircraft, including ship and passenger flights. Most delays were concentrated along the East Coast, but travelers took to social media to report delayed or grounded flights at airports across the country, including LAX.

The FAA said it is continuing to investigate the cause of the initial problem.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.