FAA Lifts US Ground Stop After 10,000 Flight Delays
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has lifted a nationwide ground stop imposed on Friday, November 13, after a telecommunications outage disrupted air traffic control operations. The emergency order halted departures across American airports for more than four hours, causing over 10,000 flight delays and thousands of cancellations.
FAA Resumes US Flights After Four-Hour Shutdown
The FAA issued the nationwide ground stop at approximately 3:54 pm Eastern Time after communication failures affected several air traffic control centres.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that American airspace reopened at 8:15 pm, although normal operations could not resume immediately.
Aircraft already airborne were generally permitted to continue their journeys, while international arrivals were handled individually.
Airlines were instructed to coordinate with air traffic controllers before restarting departures.
Over 10,000 Flights Delayed Across US Airports
Flight tracking data showed more than 10,000 delays and over 4,000 cancellations on Friday, with disruptions affecting major airports nationwide.
Hundreds of aircraft were diverted, including flights that returned to their departure airports.
Aviation analysts warned that airlines could face further disruptions over the weekend because aircraft and crew members had been displaced from their scheduled locations.
Passengers were advised to verify flight schedules directly with airlines before travelling to airports.
US Officials Blame Ageing Air Traffic Control Systems
Duffy attributed the outage to overloaded switches and routers within the FAA’s telecommunications infrastructure.
He said the disruption highlighted the need to modernise ageing equipment supporting America’s air traffic control network.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said authorities had found no indication that the incident resulted from a deliberate cyberattack.
The FAA continues examining the technical failure while airlines work to restore normal flight operations.
