From Business Insider · Taylor Rains · · 3m
FAA ground stop lifts after 6,600 flights canceled
A nationwide airspace closure Friday stranded thousands of passengers and canceled more than 6,600 flights. Officials blamed outdated hardware, not AI or cyberattacks, but warned chaos will continue for days.
In brief
A nationwide airspace closure Friday stranded thousands of passengers and canceled more than 6,600 flights. Officials blamed outdated hardware, not AI or cyberattacks, but warned chaos will continue for days. The FAA lifted a nationwide ground stop Friday after canceling 6,600 flights due to data system inconsistency…
Ground stop halts all US flights
The FAA issued a nationwide ground stop around three pm Eastern time Friday after its data systems experienced inconsistency communicating with airplanes. Three thousand flights were in the air at the time.
More than 6,600 flights canceled
By nine forty five pm Eastern time, more than six thousand six hundred flights had been canceled within the US or in or out of the country, according to FlightAware data.
Chicago and Atlanta hit hardest
Chicago O'Hare topped the list with three hundred ninety five cancellations. Atlanta's Hartsfield-Jackson, the world's busiest airport, saw over three hundred fifty flights canceled as of that time.
Duffy blames outdated hardware
Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the FAA system experienced inconsistency in data systems. He blamed the issue on decades-old analog voice switches that much of the national airspace system still relies on.
“It's the old hardware that went down.”
Officials call for fifty billion
Duffy and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin called for Congress to fund fifty billion dollars for air traffic control modernization, up from thirty billion previously pitched in September.
New IP switches not affected
Duffy said he had already replaced some switches with new IP switches, which are voice communication systems designed to replace decades-old analog switches. The new IP switches did not go down.
Not AI, not cyberattack
Mullin said he had seen zero evidence the issue was a cyberattack or a problem with artificial intelligence.
Planes diverted mid-flight
Delta Air Lines Flight nine fifty eight, traveling from Los Angeles to New York's JFK, turned around four hours into its journey at four eleven pm and diverted to Cincinnati.
Pilots have backup systems
Retired Delta Air Lines pilot Mark Stephens told Business Insider that pilots have systems to maintain safe distances during ground stops.
Passengers have little recourse
Because the ground stop was not the airlines' fault, passengers would have little recourse for meals or hotels. At Springfield-Branson Airport in Missouri, a passenger said airline systems were overloaded when he tried to rebook.
Airlines resume with waivers
Late Friday, major US carriers resumed operations after the FAA lifted the ground stop. Delta, Southwest, United, JetBlue, and American issued travel waivers allowing eligible passengers to change or rebook flights under carrier-specific terms.
Chaos expected to continue
Stephens warned of a snowball effect into the weekend. Long delays will turn into crew rest problems as pilots and flight attendants end up across the country with planes stuck in cities without crews, and…
“Tomorrow is going to be a very difficult reset as pilots and flight attendants will be all over the country, and planes will be stuck in cities without crews.”
Duffy cannot guarantee safety
When asked if the traveling public should feel safe flying in US airspace, Duffy said he was still working on details of what happened and could not guarantee the ground stop would not happen again.
The essence
The FAA lifted a nationwide ground stop Friday after canceling 6,600 flights due to data system inconsistency in outdated hardware, with officials calling for fifty billion dollars in modernization.
