US FAA grounds flights nationwide for second time since 9/11: What caused the disruption as 10,000 flights face delays? | Today’s news
The U.S. aviation system faced unprecedented disruption after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a nationwide ground shutdown on Friday, halting departures at airports across the country, the AP reported.
While a full investigation is pending and no exact cause has come to light, various reports have cited the cause as a communication outage affecting air traffic control centers.
The disruption affected thousands of flights, stranded passengers at airports, forced airlines to divert planes and disrupted international travel.
It was the second time that flight operations across the country have been grounded since the terrorist attack on the US state of New York in September 2001 (September 11, 2001). Another nationwide blackout was reported in 2023.
Quick answers to key questions
•5 QUESTIONS
The FAA attributed the disruption to a temporary telecommunications outage that affected air traffic control operations at 22 centers. The exact cause has not been determined; reports that a network update may have triggered the reboot, while authorities have reported no signs of a deliberate attack.
FlightAware has reported more than 10,000 delays and more than 4,000 cancellations. Cirium reported at least 600 diversions by 5:50 p.m. ET, including 496 flights sent back to their departure airports.
No. Flights already in the air continued to their destinations and authorities coordinated their safe landings. FlightRadar24 estimates that about 3,100 planes were heading to US airports at the start of the stopover.
At the request of the FAA, Eurocontrol suspended departures to the US from its 42 member states until midnight EST. Mexico’s aviation agency also suspended scheduled flights to the US.
Yes. Air India has advised passengers to check their flight status before traveling to the airport as the grounding has caused delays, cancellations and diversions.
The FAA said the decision was taken as a precautionary measure to ensure flight safety while technicians investigate the issue. Here’s what happened, how many flights were affected and what authorities said about the cause:
What happened in the US?
The FAA issued a nationwide ground shutdown on Friday afternoon (local time), ordering airports to halt all outbound traffic until further notice.
According to multiple reports, the problem stemmed from a telecommunications outage that affected the 22 air traffic control centers that manage aircraft traveling between US airports.
A ground stop did not mean that aircraft already flying were ordered to land immediately. The flights that were in the air continued towards their destinations, with authorities coordinating their safe landing.
How many flights were affected by the FAA ground stop?
The disruption affected thousands of flights across the United States, with cancellations, delays and diversions increasing as the shutdown continued.
At least 600 flights were diverted as of 5:50 p.m. ET Friday, according to aviation analytics company Cirium and cited by the AP.
Of these, 496 flights were sent back to the airports they originally departed from, while 104 were diverted to alternate airports. Chicago O’Hare International Airport, Denver International Airport, Dallas Fort Worth International Airport and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport were among the airports receiving the diverted aircraft.
The scope of the breach was expected to grow. About 11,000 flights carrying more than 1.5 million passengers were scheduled to depart U.S. airports after 4 p.m. ET on Friday.
Flight-tracking website FlightAware reported more than 10,000 delays and more than 4,000 cancellations in the short time since the disruption.
FlightRadar24 estimates that at the start of the ground stop, there were about 3,100 planes in the air bound for US airports.
What caused the disruption of national flights?
The FAA initially attributed the ground traffic shutdown to a temporary telecommunications outage that affected air traffic control operations. However, the exact cause has not yet been determined.
A CBS News report, citing multiple sources, said an update to the private communications network connecting the U.S. air traffic control system triggered a reboot of the system, leading to the crash and loss of communications.
According to reports, investigators are looking into whether a software update may have triggered the outage.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was no indication the incident was a deliberate attack or a threat to the US.
How have international flights been affected?
The European aviation agency Eurocontrol has suspended all departures to the US from its 42 member states at the FAA’s request, Reuters reported. The suspension was expected to last from 5:00 PM ET until midnight on Friday.
Mexico’s Federal Aviation Authority has also canceled scheduled flights from Mexican airports to the US.
Air India has warned that the nationwide ground stop could have knock-on effects on its flights to and from the US. In a statement, the airline advised passengers to check their flight status before traveling to the airport.
Is this the first time the US has grounded all domestic flights?
The latest incident was the first nationwide ground shutdown since January 2023, when a glitch in a key FAA computer system disrupted flight operations across the country.
Before that, the last nationwide grounding occurred after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.
