An iPad software glitch delayed a total of 74 American Airline flights last week. The glitch caused an error with the digital map that pilots use in the cockpit.
“Some flights are experiencing an issue with a software application on pilot iPads. In some cases, the flight has had to return to the gate to access a WiFi connection to fix the issue,” American Airlines said.
American Airlines became the first airline to have its pilots reply on Apple iPads for flight plans and navigations in 2013. The airline incorporated a paperless program; 8,000 iPads replaced 24 million pages of printed documents and also saved the company more than 400,000 gallons of fuel each year following, according to CNNMoney.
Even though the paperless program has its benefits, software is not always reliable. Many pilots were forced to use paper charts as a backup plan last week.
American Airlines apologized to its customers for the inconvenience and is working to ensure this problem is properly fixed.
