FLORIDA — Normal air traffic operations are resuming gradually across the U.S. following an overnight outage to the Federal Aviation Administration's NOTAM system. 

Flights out of Tampa and Orlando are resuming after the system went down earlier. Despite that, there are still further delays as carriers attempt to catch up all of the delayed flights. 

At one point, 120 flights were delayed from MCO, with some flights being delayed by over two hours. The airport was scheduled for 465 departures on Tuesday. 

The FAA halted all domestic flights until 9 a.m. ET, as the agency worked to restore its system. 

Multiple locations across the United States began experiencing issues and flight delays this morning due to the outage. 

More than 3,500 flights were delayed across the U.S., according to the flight tracking website FlightAware.

What You Need To Know

Airports are still expected to see some delays as operations get up and running. 

Tampa International Airport first saw around 24 delays when the outage occurred. 

As of 10:30 a.m., approximately 52 flights have been delayed at Orlando International Airport.

The agency said in a tweet that it was working on restoring its Notice to Air Missions System.

What exactly is the NOTAM system?

The NOTAM is a notice containing important information for people working in flight operations. It is used for last-minute communications that are difficult to publicize by other means. Originally abbreviated from 'Notice To Air Men,' the FAA adopted a more gender-neutral definition of 'Notice To Air Missions' in 2021.

The system relays information about changes in conditions such as weather, volcanic activity, airspace restrictions and other factors, as well as unusual events such as parachute jumps, rocket launches and military exercises. It also advises pilots of extraordinary situations at airports, including icing, malfunctioning lights and the presence of flocks of birds.