Symbolic imageFAA lifts nationwide ground stop after about four hours
The FAA halted all US departures on Friday after a communications failure at its air traffic control centers. Airspace reopened that evening, but airlines expect disruption to continue.
On Friday, 13 November, at 3:36 p.m. Eastern, the FAA ordered the stop "due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety" after a communication issue hit all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. Planes already airborne were allowed to land. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said old routers were overloaded with data and gave inconsistent readings, so the system was shut down. He said the airspace reopened at 8:15 p.m. and the problem had been identified. FlightAware counted nearly 7,000 delayed or canceled flights, while the Guardian, citing the same tracker, reported more than 11,000. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was no indication of a cyberattack, though the New York Times reports he did not rule it out.
Duffy presses Congress for money
At the White House briefing, Duffy said the system "is going to continue to fail" without more funding. The White House asked Congress that day for another $30.1 billion, on top of the $12.5 billion approved last year. The New York Times reports Duffy now wants $50 billion in emergency funding before year's end, while some Democratic lawmakers question how the FAA has spent its money so far.
Recovery will take time
Airlines have aircraft and crews in the wrong places, and Duffy said the restart would be slow, with more flights hoped for on Saturday. Eurocontrol asked carriers to warn passengers of delays on US-bound flights, according to FAZ.