The Federal Aviation Administration lifted a nationwide ground stop on Friday after an hours-long communications outage paralyzed U.S. air travel, stranding hundreds of thousands of passengers and scrambling sports schedules.
The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all departing flights nationwide on Friday afternoon, creating a severe travel disruption. The stoppage lasted more than four hours before the Federal Aviation Administration lifted the order at 8:15 p.m. ET, allowing airports to slowly reopen their airspace.
Aging Technology and Heavy Data Traffic Caused the Failure
Transportation officials blamed the systemwide failure on aging technology that buckled under heavy data traffic. Air Route Traffic Control Centers experienced intermittent radar and communications outages beginning just after 3:30 p.m. ET, according to Yahoo News.
A nationwide ground stop is a rare but major disruption. It appears to be related to FAA's ARTCCs. @FAANews will be updating Congress and the flying public about the problem, but the incident highlights the need to prioritize modernizing ARTCCs over other projects. No new ARTCC… https://t.co/LtWOt0u0mx
“We have old switches, old routers. We use 1980s little copper lines. It’s an old system that went down and went down everywhere. It got overloaded,” said Secretary Sean Duffy, Transportation Secretary, during a NPR news briefing.
When the ground stop went into effect, more than 3,500 airplanes were already airborne across the country, managed by regional en route facilities. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said that federal authorities found no indication of a cyberattack and insisted the public was never in danger, according to NBC News.
The @FAAnews issued a nationwide ground stop for all U. S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them.
Air Space Intelligence stated on social media regarding its product, “The current ground stop is not based on or a result of the SMART system, any product of ASI or our integration with FAA and ATC.” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated during a briefing, “There's no reason for the public to be afraid or scared for their loved ones. This is not another 9/11.” Mullin added, “There is actually no cyberattack. We're still working through that process.”
Flights Canceled and Sports Teams Stranded
Flight tracking data from NPR showed more than 8,000 flights delayed and 7,000 canceled by Friday evening, compounding nearly 7,000 delays recorded the previous day. Major carriers including Delta Air Lines, United Airlines, and American Airlines reported widespread cancellations and warned customers that recovery efforts would stretch across the weekend.
The current ground stop is not based on or a result of the SMART system, any product of ASI or our integration with FAA and ATC.
The sudden grounding threw professional and collegiate sports schedules into immediate disarray. NBA, NHL, and college football teams found themselves stranded on tarmacs or forced to cancel travel plans as charter flights were grounded.
The Big 12 Conference evaluated schedule adjustments after team travel was halted, CBS Sports reported. Meanwhile, five NBA teams scheduled to fly Friday for games Saturday were affected, including the Nets, according to ESPN.
Several college programs were left at a standstill while attempting to depart for road games, including No. 2 Utah, eighth-ranked Texas, and No. 9 Tennessee. The Utah Utes were scheduled to play at No. 22 Arizona, the Texas Longhorns were set to visit No. 24 LSU and the Tennessee Volunteers were traveling to Texas A&M. Texas and Tennessee both returned to their campuses during the stoppage.
Washington Huskies spokesman Kurt Svoboda said that his team returned to campus while officials stayed in touch with Alaska and Hawaiian Airlines partners and their flight crew remained in place. Oregon State initially began traveling to Idaho by bus before heading back to the airport on Friday evening ahead of a game against No. 24 Boise State. Arizona State’s game against UCF was moved from 3:30 p.m. ET to 5:30 p.m.
Safety is always our top priority, and we are currently in close communication with the DOT and the FAA amid the nationwide ground stop. We appreciate the patience of the traveling public and the dedication of frontline employees who are navigating this situation. Impacted…
At Dallas Fort Worth International Airport, passenger Regina Harling recounted waiting hours before learning of the nationwide grounding via her phone, noting a nearby sign still stated boarding would occur in 16 minutes.
In Jacksonville, Florida, airport spokesman Greg Willis reported that cancellation counts were expected to climb beyond an initial tally of 48 flights. Traveler Rhonda Hamilton described securing an offsite hotel room because locations near the airport were completely sold out.
The safety of our skies is built on redundancies. Whatever led to the nationwide ground stop will warrant a thorough and complete investigation. As Aviation Subcommittee Ranking Member, I'll be demanding answers from the FAA. https://t.co/kCJts7xBRm
Congressional Funding Push for Infrastructure
Transportation Secretary Duffy pushed Congress to approve a $50 billion price tag to overhaul the legacy equipment.
Lawmakers immediately demanded answers regarding the vulnerability of the national airspace. “The safety of our skies is built on redundancies. Whatever led to the nationwide ground stop will warrant a thorough and complete investigation,” said Sen. Tammy Duckworth, an Illinois Democrat, in a statement posted to social media and covered by Yahoo News.
At 20:54 UTC, the FAA issued a nationwide ground stop for all flights departing for US airports due to an equipment outage. At the time, 4,042 flights destined for US airports were already airborne. Watch the next two hours of US air traffic. pic.twitter.com/qbtzX7cMtc
More on Markwayne Mullin
There are currently 3,100 airborne aircraft bound for US airports amid nationwide ground stop. No additional aircraft are taking off at this time. pic.twitter.com/GGqfb8QXhP
Statement from the Southeastern Conference on FAA nationwide ground stop: pic.twitter.com/IIU4TnwMVJ
GAME UPDATE: Due to travel issues related to Friday’s FAA ground stoppage, the @AuburnFootball at @HailStateFB game start time will move to 4:15 PM ET / 3:15 PM CT. Television network is TBA.#SECFB pic.twitter.com/WUsc7lNuqS
Northwestern made it to Columbus. Minnesota is grounded trying to get to Penn State.https://t.co/7P5Gj5ysyL https://t.co/5pjuZJwQLS
Wheels up to South Bend ✈️ pic.twitter.com/H56uwgfQEA
Baylor will not be flying tonight to BYU. Earliest departure would be Saturday.
The FAA has issued a nationwide ground stop for all flights. Travelers should confirm their flight status with their airline before heading to the airport.
The FAA-mandated ground stop has been lifted and we are safely resuming flights. We encourage you to check the Delta app or https://t.co/19TGEJUCaj for flight status and the latest updates. Thank you for your understanding as we work as quickly as possible to fully restore…
An FAA-issued nationwide ground stop is currently in effect. No Delta flights are departing at this time. Flights already enroute will continue to their destinations. A travel waiver is in place to allow customers to change their flight at no extra cost.…
The nationwide FAA ground stop has been lifted. Flight delays and cancellations continue. Check with your airline for the latest information.
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