U.S. departures resumed Friday night after an air traffic control communications failure. Airlines faced thousands of cancellations heading into the weekend.
PHILADELPHIA: The Federal Aviation Administration lifted its nationwide ground stop Friday night, November 13, but disruptions carried into Saturday. By early Saturday morning, flight-tracking service FlightAware listed more than 3,200 cancellations for flights within, into or out of the United States.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the FAA lifted the order at 8:15 p.m. Eastern time Friday, or 9:15 p.m. in Sint Maarten. He warned that departures would resume gradually as airlines worked to position aircraft and crews. Reuters reported that nearly 10,000 flights had been canceled by 11:30 p.m. Friday, citing Flightradar24.
Communications failure prompted the nationwide stop
The FAA issued the order Friday afternoon after communications problems affected multiple regional air traffic control centers. Duffy said officials detected inconsistencies in radar data and communications with aircraft while more than 3,500 planes were in the air. He said older communications equipment had overloaded, and officials were still investigating what triggered the failure.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said investigators had found no evidence of a cyberattack as of Friday evening. Federal officials said they found no connection between the FAA failure and the separately reported Microsoft outage.
What the disruption means for Sint Maarten travelers
Saturday’s cancellation count covers the United States and international flights to and from the country. A breakdown of cancellations at Princess Juliana International Airport was unavailable at the time of publication. Travelers flying between Sint Maarten and the United States can check their flight status directly with their airline before leaving for the airport.