10,000 US flights affected in 90-minute 'ground stop'

More than 10,000 flights have been delayed so far and over 1,300 canceled, according to FlightAware, in the first national grounding of flights.

A passenger of Chicago looks at flight information screen at Chicago's Midway Airport that reflects the flight delays stemming from a computer.

The U.S. aviation sector was struggling to return to normal on Wednesday after a nationwide ground stop imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Major carriers, such as Southwest Airlines Co, United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines, all reported 40% or more of flights.

The FAA computer issue had prevented airports from filing updated safety notices that warn pilots of potential hazards such as runway closures.

FAA officials said a preliminary review traced the problem to a damaged database file, but added that there was no evidence of a cyberattack.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg told CNN the ground stop was the "right call" to make sure messages were getting sent correctly and there was no direct.

The outage occurred at a typically slow time after the holiday travel season, but demand remains strong as travel continues to recover to near pre-pandemic levels.