US Allows Takeoffs Nationwide After Hours of National Flight Stoppage
US allows takeoffs after hours of stoppage due to communication failure in air traffic control. Delays and cancellations are expected to continue.
TL;DR
- The FAA lifted a national flight suspension after a communication failure affected air traffic control.
- The suspension lasted approximately four and a half hours.
- Airlines anticipate continued delays and cancellations throughout the weekend.
- Major airlines like JetBlue and Air Canada canceled numerous flights.
- Over 4,000 flights were canceled and 10,000 delayed on Friday.
- The FAA had requested European and Mexican airports to temporarily halt flights to the US.
- About 600 flights were diverted during the stoppage.
- The FBI is investigating a possible software update as the cause of the communication failure.
- Initial assessments have not found evidence of a terrorist attack or deliberate action.
- This was the second national flight suspension in the US since 9/11, surpassing the 2023 outage in duration.