Technical glitch causes widespread flight delays in U.S.

WASHINGTON, April 1 (Xinhua) -- A technical glitch hit multiple U.S. AIRLINES Monday morning, disrupting air traffic in a number of large cities, a U.S. aviation regulator said.

"Several U.S. AIRLINES are experiencing computer issues this morning. Please contact your airline directly for flight information and updates," the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said.

Flight tracking service Flightaware said over 3,200 flights nationwide had been delayed as of 11:18 a.m. (1518 GMT).

Major U.S. cities including Boston, New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia and Orlando would see disruptions in their air traffic, the FAA said, while American AIRLINES, Delta, Southwest and United, the four biggest U.S. AIRLINES, all reported delays.

The issue was believed to have been with a planning and balancing system that is used by AIRLINES to distribute weight and planes. The system is operated by Aerodata, a third party data company.

The FAA said the issue had been solved approximately one hour after it was first reported.