DALLAS — Word to the wise: Be patient if you're planning to fly on Wednesday.
A critical system outage forced the Federal Aviation Administration to order a stop on all domestic departures until at least 8 a.m. Central Time.
Flights were eventually able to resume but delays and cancellations were piling up, according to FlightAware.
The FAA, which is responsible for air travel regulations, confirmed through an advisory that its "NOTAM" system went offline shortly after 11 p.m. Eastern.
The NOTAM system is designed to provide pilots and air traffic controllers with critical information as it develops, including changes in weather or conditions at a certain airport.
The information in NOTAM advisories can be hundreds of pages for some flights, containing details about runway closures, bird hazards or low-altitude obstacles in a flight path.
Here's the easiest way you can check your flight status, and the latest cancellations and delays, at each airport:
Click the links below to check live stats and flight updates from each airport:
You can check your flight status, by airport, here:
Check worldwide cancellations and delays here: