SRINAGAR: More than 4,700 flights were cancelled and around 10,000 delayed across the United States on Friday after a temporary telecommunications outage disrupted air traffic control operations, prompting the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to impose a nationwide ground stop.
The nearly four-hour shutdown affected airports across the country and was described as the longest nationwide aviation disruption in the US since the September 11, 2001, attacks.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the ground stop was ordered following a communication failure affecting all Air Route Traffic Control Centres.
In a statement posted on X, Duffy said FAA technicians were investigating the disruption and that further updates would be provided as information became available.
The FAA also confirmed that a temporary telecommunications outage had prompted the grounding of flights as a precautionary measure.
“There has been a temporary telecommunications outage – out of an abundance of caution all flights have been halted. Every flight has been accounted for and international flights will be handled on a case by case basis,” the agency said.
According to flight-tracking website Flightradar24, around 4,042 flights were airborne and heading towards US airports when the ground stop was issued.
The Department of Homeland Security said there was no indication that the outage had been caused by a cyberattack.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said all flights had been accounted for and passengers were safe, while cautioning that resolving the disruption could take time.
Aviation analysts warned that airlines could require several days to restore their schedules following the widespread disruption.
The FAA had issued a similar nationwide ground stop in January 2023, when domestic departures were suspended for nearly 90 minutes.
with agency inputs
