The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted a nationwide ground stop on Friday night after a significant communications outage halted most departures for more than four hours. The disruption, which began shortly before 4 pm Eastern Time and ended at 8:15 pm, left thousands of passengers stranded at airports across the country.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that radar communications at air traffic control centers became unstable at 3:36 pm ET. He attributed the failure to an aging network, noting that the system relies on “1980s little copper lines” and that old switches and routers had become overloaded with data. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin added that recent technology upgrades had “overwhelmed” the existing, antiquated infrastructure.
While the exact cause of the data overload remains under investigation, officials have found no evidence of a cyberattack. Mullin confirmed that the incident was unrelated to recent Microsoft disruptions. CBS News, citing multiple sources, reported that an update to a private communications network triggered a reboot that ultimately resulted in a system crash, while The Washington Post noted that the FAA’s internal network experienced issues with its timing system.
This event marks the longest nationwide ground stop in the United States since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The last significant disruption occurred in January 2023, when a failure in a safety alert system paused departures for approximately 90 minutes.
Key facts
- The ground stop lasted for more than four hours, spanning from shortly before 4 pm to 8:15 pm ET on Friday.
- According to data from FlightAware cited by the Hindustan Times, the outage resulted in over 10,000 flight delays and 4,000 cancellations.
- Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy reported that radar communication instability began at 3:36 pm ET.
- The outage is considered the longest nationwide halt to commercial aviation in the US since September 11, 2001.
- Officials stated that current evidence does not point to a cyberattack as the cause of the failure.
Why it matters
Although the ground stop has been lifted, the FAA and airlines expect the resulting flight backlog to persist for several days. Hundreds of thousands of travelers experienced travel disruptions as a result of the outage.
Background
In a standard US commercial flight, airport towers clear aircraft for take-off before handing control to departure controllers. Regional air traffic control centers then guide flights along their routes, handing them off to approach controllers near their destinations. Pilots communicate via radio with ground stations, which must remain in range to maintain constant contact.
Source: Indian Express, Hindustan Times
Comments