ASN NEWS USA — NEWS FLASH

By ASN News Editorial Desk

WASHINGTON (ASN NEWS USA)— America stopped flying on Friday. The Federal Aviation Administration grounded every departing flight in the nation after a communications failure hit air traffic control centers across the country — the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023.

The stop lasted more than four hours. More than 6,600 flights were canceled and 8,600 delayed, according to FlightRadar24, and roughly 9,500 flights were delayed or canceled in all. About 1.5 million passengers were scheduled to depart on some 11,000 flights after 4 p.m. Eastern, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. Tens of thousands of travelers were left stranded at airports, some overnight.

Old wires, new failure

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed the breakdown on the country’s aging air traffic network, saying switches and routers became overloaded with data and went down. He said there was no sign of malicious actors or a cyberattack. The failure hit all of the FAA’s Air Route Traffic Control Centers at once, and the FAA listed the stop as effective from 3:54 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. Eastern.

The disruption is the latest sign of strain on a system beset by equipment failures, communications problems and controller shortages. Even after the FAA lifted the stop, airlines warned the ripple effects could last for days — college football teams were among those scrambling to reach Saturday’s games.

Stay tuned to ASN News USA for updates as the nation’s air travel system works to get back on schedule.

Reported by ASN News USA. Visit asnnewsusa.com or follow @ASNNewsUSA for updates.

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