U.S. Faces Unprecedented Flight Suspension... Incheon Departures Also Delayed "Two Hours"

Flight operations suspended at airports across the United States
"Suspected communications system outage"
Flights from Incheon Airport to New York and other cities delayed

Travelers make their way to the departure hall at Terminal 2 of Incheon International Airport on Sept. 23, a day before Chuseok, Korea's biggest traditional holiday. Incheon International Airport Corp. said an average of 228,000 passengers are expected to use the airport each day from Sept. 23 to 27, for a total of 1.14 million over the five-day period. That would be 4.8% higher than the previous record of an average 217,614 passengers per day during last year's Chuseok holiday. Sept. 23, 2026. Photo by Kang Jinhyeong

On Nov. 13 (local time), flight operations were halted at airports across the United States for reasons believed to be related to a communications outage. Flights departing Incheon International Airport for major cities in the United States, including New York, were delayed by about two hours.

As of 10 a.m. on Nov. 14, Incheon International Airport Corporation said on its website that flights departing for New York, Atlanta and Boston in the United States were delayed by two hours. Official statistics on flight delays have not yet been released.

That day, 32 passenger flights were scheduled to depart from Incheon Airport, or 52 flights including cargo flights. An Incheon International Airport official said, "Check-in is currently underway for nine flights at Incheon International Airport Terminal 2 (T2)," the official said. "Today delays through the morning appear inevitable."

Meanwhile, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced that it was suspending departures from airports across the country due to an emergency and safety concerns caused by a communications outage in air traffic control.

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

Immediately after the incident, the U.S. government said there was no indication that the air traffic control communications system outage had been caused by a malicious attack. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said at a briefing, "At this time, this is simply a communications outage," adding, "This incident is completely different from the 9/11 attacks."

U.S. media outlets, citing the government, have reported that it is currently difficult to determine when the nationwide suspension of flight operations will 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 continue for an extended period. Major airlines were also reported to have indicated that flight suspensions could continue for the rest of the night.

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