US: FAA orders nationwide suspension of all outbound flights
The decision was taken due to ‘extraordinary circumstances’ and ‘safety reasons’. Communications between air traffic control centres were cut off. It does not appear to have been a cyber-attack; the focus is on a technical failure
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the US federal agency for civil aviation, has imposed an extremely rare nationwide suspension of all flights departing from US airports, citing ‘extraordinary circumstances’ and ‘safety reasons’. The measure was announced in an air traffic control notice issued today.
The authorities went on to clarify that this was not a cyber-attack or any other form of malicious activity, but rather a software system crash that occurred whilst the system was being updated and integrated. However, investigations are still ongoing, with no official conclusions yet, to determine the cause of the system failure – whether it originated in the hardware, the software or the network infrastructure.
‘All departing flights must remain on the ground until further notice,’ reads the notice, which imposes a nationwide ‘ground stop’ – an exceptional measure that temporarily prevents aircraft from taking off. The FAA has also clarified that “incoming international flights will be dealt with on a case-by-case basis”.
It was the Secretary of State for Transport, Sean Duffy, who explained that the suspension is likely due to a communication problem affecting all air traffic control centres. The measure applies to departures from US airports and does not automatically result in the cancellation of flights already in progress.
More than 30,000 flights were scheduled to depart from the country’s airports for the rest of the day. There were 3,100 aircraft already en route or due to arrive.
