A widespread communications outage within the U.S. air traffic control system prompted the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to ground all domestic flights on Friday, causing significant disruption to thousands of journeys in an unprecedented measure. The FAA issued a Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) directing all departing aircraft to remain on the ground until further notice, while international arrivals would be assessed on a case-by-case basis. The grounding order was a direct response to a critical failure affecting communication systems used by air traffic controllers across the nation. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy attributed the decision to a communications issue impacting all air traffic control facilities nationwide. He confirmed that technical teams from the FAA were actively investigating the cause of the disruption. Early assessments by law enforcement sources, as reported by CNN, did not indicate the outage was the result of a cyberattack. According to media reports, the malfunction stemmed from a cascading failure in radio frequencies essential for communication between pilots and air traffic controllers, leading to a loss of contact in multiple control centers and facilities. The FAA had initially halted flights in Chicago before extending the nationwide grounding following reports of severe communication problems. The impact on air travel was substantial, with FlightAware data indicating approximately 7,000 flights were delayed or canceled. FlightRadar24 data showed around 3,100 aircraft en route to U.S. airports at the time of the departure halt. At Denver International Airport, passengers were deplaned with their luggage, and some travelers began rebooking flights for the following day, according to The New York Times. This nationwide grounding of all departing flights is a rare occurrence. Such broad measures are typically reserved for specific airports or regions. Fox News noted that an action of this magnitude has not been implemented since the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. |
