According to flight statistics from FlightRadar24, 62 percent of arrivals at the Baltimore-Washington airport have been canceled.

As aviation officials worked Saturday to shift the usual control of flight-routing around the Washington area, angry travelers took to social media, where the malfunction was dubbed “Flypocalypse”. The problem is not believed to be caused by any accident or hacking.

CNN has said that there have been 3,400 delayed flights and 640 cancellations of flights originating in or flying to the United States.

As those airports are responsible for a great share of East Coast air traffic, the glitch caused cancellations, delays and reroutes, the FAA said.

Information posted online by the FAA indicated there was a problem with the En Route Automation Modernisation computer system, also known as ERAM, at the Leesburg centre.

American Airlines said in a tweet that air traffic control issues are impacting all East Coast flights.

“An FAA automation system that experienced problems earlier today is back in service”, the Federal Aviation Administration said, announcing that operations were returning to normal.

According to reports, 30 percent of flights at Reagan National Airport were canceled and 18 percent at Baltimore-Washington global Thurgood Marshall Airport.

One passenger, Kerbie Campell said she had been forced to cancel her flight and was in danger of missing a friend’s wedding.

The FAA said is was directing high altitude traffic around the affected airspace.

“We stood in line for about three hours, tried to get a connecting flight and ended up finagling something to Milwaukee in the morning”, said Robinson. Airport officials have not commented on how long the flights will remain grounded.