A problem with the system that processes flight plans was repaired late Thursday morning after delaying flights at Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport and elsewhere, but it will likely take hours for flight schedules to return to normal.

“Systems that allow for the automated processing of flight plan information were restored as of 10 a.m.,” Federal Aviation Administration spokeswoman Kathleen Bergen said. She could not say where the problem occurred, only that it was not in Atlanta.

Bergen did not know how many airports were affected, but said the problem “is much more widespread than just Atlanta.”

Many travelers in Atlanta endured hours of delays.

After spending the night on a sofa in Hartsfield-Jackson’s atrium, Pensacola resident Debbie Shacklett woke up to discover her scheduled 9:20 a.m. departure would be delayed five hours.

“I’m just worried I’m going to fall asleep and miss it,” Shacklett, 56, told the AJC. Her flight from Philadelphia last evening arrived late, causing her to miss a midnight connector home. “Then I waited two hours for my luggage,” she said.

Like many of the passengers stuck in Atlanta, Shacklett had no idea what caused the massive delays.

Bergen said earlier in the morning that the problem was affecting flights that had not yet taken off and that air traffic controllers “have radar coverage and communications with planes” already in the air.

Bergen said the glitch did not pose a safety problem, but was “more of a convenience issue.”

Or inconvenience. Philadelphia resident John Lewis arrived at Hartsfield-Jackson at 9:30 a.m. only to learn his flight wouldn’t be leaving for another seven hours, at best.

“We tried to call ahead but couldn’t get through,” said Lewis, 46, lounging in the atrium. “And we had already turned in our rental car so now we’re stuck here. At least we found a comfortable spot.”

According to a statement released at mid-morning by the National Air Traffic Controllers Association, a system known as the National Airspace Data Interchange Network failed.

“We have some reports that the system is coming back online, which is good news, but there will be flight delays throughout the day due to the ‘ripple effect’ of this outage,” the union statement said.

The statement said the computer failure “has created a domino effect of problems throughout the country. It will take many hours for the system to catch up.”

AirTran had canceled 38 flights as of 9 a.m. because of the FAA’s computer problems, airline spokesman Christopher White said. “Dozens” more had been delayed, he said.

But a few flights remained on schedule.

“At first we were going to be delayed 30 minutes, but now we’re leaving on time,” said Acworth resident Bruce Holman, en route to Boston via AirTran. “I have good luck flying.”

A spokeswoman for Delta Air Lines would not release the number of flights canceled and delayed, but said at noon that “at this time, cancellations and delays are fairly minor.”

Katena Carvajales, a spokeswoman for Hartsfield, released the follwing statement just before 9 a.m.:

“Hartsfield-Jackson officials are monitoring the situation regarding the FAA’s automated flight plan system. The airport is working to minimize the impact on customers by bringing in additional staff and ensuring that all facilities are operational and fully maintained. All passengers are encouraged to contact the airlines regarding the statuses of their flights before they head to the airport.”

In August 2008, a malfunction of a computer at the FAA center in Henry County that oversees flight plans for the eastern half of the United States delayed hundreds of flights across the country. During that failure, the FAA shifted the processing to a backup center in Salt Lake City.