FAA computer issue delays Tri-Cities flights. What happens if you’re stranded at an airport?

An overnight computer problem with a Federal Aviation Administration that grounded flights across the country slowed some travelers in the Tri-Cities.

People departing leaving Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco early Wednesday faced some delays but no flights were canceled and the majority of flights were leaving on time by 9 a.m., said Airport Director Buck Taft.

“I’m sure there will be ripple effects,” Taft said. “It affected the East Cost hard.”

The FAA’s Notice to Air Missions system stopped processing information during the night, The system provides essential aviation information such as airspace obstacles and closed obstacles and closed runways to pilots and other airport personnel.

In reaction, the administration stopped all U.S. domestic departures at about 3:30 a.m. Pacific Time. All of the planes in the air were safe to land, according to the administration’s Twitter feed.

Normal air traffic started up about 2 1/2 hours later, and FAA officials were continuing to investigate what caused the problem.

White House officials have said there is no evidence of a cyberattack.

The only delays going on in the Tri-Cities are impacting Alaska Airlines flights to Seattle which were running about an hour late. It’s unclear if those were caused by the FAA outage or other problems.

The Tri-Cities Airport has flights leaving to Seattle, Salt Lake City, Minneapolis and Denver on Wednesday.

The airport is served by Delta, Alaska Air, United, Allegiant and Avelo with flights to Seattle, San Francisco, Burbank, Minneapolis, Salt Lake City, Los Angeles, San Diego, Las Vegas and Phoenix.

Tips for delayed travelers

The U.S Department of Transportation offered some useful information for travelers facing delayed flights.

Travelers aren’t legally entitled to refunds if they’re delayed, according to the the department. But each airline has it’s own policies for handling delayed passengers.

“If your flight is experiencing a long delay, ask airline staff if they will pay for meals or a hotel room,” the department recommended. “While some airlines offer these amenities to passengers, others do no provide any amenities to stranded passengers.”

Airlines are required to tell passengers about changes in the flight 30 minutes after the airline becomes the aware of a status change. If it’s longer than 30 minutes, the airline needs to update all sources of flight information at U.S. airports they operate in.

Sometimes it is possible to switch to a different flight on the same airline or transfer the ticket to another airline. Those transfers need to be made with the airlines. There aren’t any federal regulations that require the airlines to find a traveler a different seat.

If the flight is significantly delayed, it is possible the person may be entitled to a refund, according to the department.

“Whether you are entitled to a refund depends on a lot of factors — such as the length of the delay, the length of the flight and your particular circumstance,” the Department of Transportation said on its site. “(The department) determines whether you are entitled to a refund on a case by case basis.”