The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has temporarily suspended aircraft departures from airports across the United States following a serious failure in the internal communication systems of the country’s air traffic control centres.
The unprecedented move has disrupted air travel nationwide, with nearly 7,000 flights cancelled or severely delayed, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware, Reuters reported on Saturday.
The suspension marks only the second time since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks that all flight departures across the United States have been halted. A similar disruption occurred in January 2023 when a system failure forced the temporary suspension of domestic flights.
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According to FlightAware, aircraft already in the air were allowed to continue to their destinations and land safely. However, no new flights were permitted to depart from airports under the FAA’s emergency directive.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the decision was taken because of communication problems at air route traffic control centres.
He said senior FAA technology specialists were working urgently to resolve the technical issues and that further updates would be provided as soon as the situation returned to normal.
A similar communication-related disruption had earlier prompted a suspension of flight operations at Chicago airport.
The incident has once again highlighted longstanding challenges facing the US aviation sector, including ageing technology, equipment shortages and a shortage of qualified air traffic control personnel.
Last year, Congress allocated $12.5 billion to modernise the country’s ageing aviation infrastructure. However, on Friday, the FAA and the White House reportedly sought an additional $30.1 billion in funding from lawmakers to address infrastructure and technological deficiencies.
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