"Don't Know When Flights Will Take Off" U.S. Airports Grind to a Halt, Passengers Left in Limbo... Nationwide Flight Suspension: Why?

Air Traffic Control Communications System Failure
More Than 13,000 Flights Delayed or Canceled
"No Signs of a Malicious Attack Detected"

More than 13,000 flights were delayed or canceled after all aircraft operations at airports across the United States were halted on the afternoon of November 13 (local time), reportedly due to a communications system outage affecting air traffic control.

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According to the Associated Press and The Wall Street Journal (WSJ), the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it was suspending departures from airports across the United States, citing an emergency and safety concerns caused by an air traffic control communications outage.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on social media that communications problems had occurred at 22 regional air traffic control centers that manage aircraft routes between airports across the United States, adding that "FAA technicians are investigating the issue."

The AP reported that this was the first nationwide shutdown of aircraft operations since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and a malfunction in the FAA's major computer systems in January 2023.

Shortly after the incident began, the U.S. government said it had found no signs of a malicious attack behind the air traffic control communications system outage. At a briefing, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said, "At this point, it is simply a communications outage," adding that "this situation is completely different from the September 11 attacks."

CNN reported that the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and the National Security Agency (NSA) were among the agencies conducting an in-depth investigation into the situation.

Xinhua News Agency, Yonhap News Agency

Foreign media, citing the U.S. government, reported that it was currently difficult to determine when the nationwide flight suspension would be resolved. CNN reported that Secretary Mullin said it was difficult to say exactly when the situation would be resolved and that the disruption could be prolonged. Major airlines were also said to have indicated that the suspension could continue for the rest of the night.

The FAA said that landings by international flights entering the United States would be managed on a case-by-case basis. European aviation authorities, which manage air traffic across 42 member countries, said that at the FAA's request, they would suspend flights to the United States for about seven hours that night. Mexico's Federal Civil Aviation Agency also said that scheduled flights to the United States would be suspended for the time being.

Air cargo and parcel deliveries were also suspended as a result of the FAA's flight restrictions. FedEx, which uses air transport, said, "We are ready to activate contingency plans to minimize service disruptions and will resume normal flight operations as soon as we receive FAA approval."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.