FAA lifts nationwide departure halt after communications outage
The disruption led to more than 4,700 flight cancellations and 10,000 delays, Reuters reported. Officials said departures would restart slowly.
The US Federal Aviation Administration allowed departures to resume nationwide on November 13 at approximately 8:15 p.m. EST after a telecommunications outage disrupted air traffic control centers. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy cautioned that flights would not restart all at once.
Reuters reported more than 4,700 canceled flights and 10,000 delays because of the stoppage, plus another 700 cancellations for Saturday. At a briefing covered by CBS News, Duffy said the resumption would be slow and directed passengers to their airlines for information.
The FAA had barred takeoffs at about 4:00 p.m. EST, citing safety and extraordinary circumstances. Technicians reportedly managed to stabilize the affected telecommunications network.
According to CNN, Duffy attributed the disruption to outdated air traffic control technology and routers operating under excessive loads. He has sought US$50 billion for system upgrades. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was no evidence of a cyberattack and ruled out a connection to the Microsoft outage or a threat to the United States.
The nationwide halt lasted longer than any since the attacks of September 11, 2001. A January 2023 stoppage lasted about 90 minutes.
