Brainerd airport sees brief delays from nationwide system outage

Brainerd Lakes Regional Airport building exterior.

By Dispatch staff report

January 11, 2023 05:41 PM

BRAINERD — Flight departures in the U.S. began resuming early Wednesday, Jan. 11, after an overnight outage to a key air-traffic system prompted authorities to ground planes nationwide.

The Federal Aviation Administration said normal air traffic operations were gradually returning as it lifted the ground stop shortly before 8 a.m., Bloomberg News reported. The disruption stemmed from problems with the Notice to Air Missions system, or NOTAM, which conveys advisory information essential for flight operations.

The dramatic system disruption is one of the most significant in recent decades for the FAA, Bloomberg News reported, and comes after a year of tests of the nation’s air system as the return from COVID-19 stressed airlines and air-traffic operations.

At the Brainerd Lakes Regional Airport, the morning flight Wednesday was able to get into Brainerd though it was a little delayed, said Steven Wright, airport manager.

Wright added they’ve been able to communicate with airlines in different ways and get passengers in and out of Brainerd.

“Delays were kind of taking place both due to the freezing rain and that NOTAM issue just with communications,” Wright said. “…The whole team worked together between the airline, airport, the FAA, flight controllers. We’re able to get flights in and out of Brainerd and through to Minneapolis.”

Related Topics: BRAINERD BRAINERD LAKES REGIONAL AIRPORT

By Dispatch staff report

Our newsroom occasionally reports stories under a byline of "staff." Often, the "staff" byline is used when rewriting basic news briefs that originate from official sources, such as a city press release about a road closure, and which require little or no reporting. At times, this byline is used when a news story includes numerous authors or when the story is formed by aggregating previously reported news from various sources. If outside sources are used, it is noted within the story.

Hi, I'm the Brainerd Dispatch. I started working a few days before Christmas in 1881 and became a daily paper two years later. I've gone through a lot of changes over the years, but what has never changed is my commitment to community and to local journalism. I've got an entire team of dedicated people who work night and day to make sure I go out every morning, whether in print, as an e-edition, via an app or with additional information at www.brainerddispatch.com. News, weather, sports — videos, photos, podcasts and social media — all covering stories from central Minnesota about your neighbors, your lakes, your communities, your challenges and your opportunities. It's all part of the effort to keep people connected and informed. And we couldn't do it without support.