U.S. flights grounded due to wire replacement issues

U.S. flights resume after nationwide grounding caused by wire replacement, but backlog delays expected ahead of Thanksgiving travel

Flights in the U.S. resumed after a five-hour grounding due to old copper wire replacements with new fibre ones, causing major disruptions.

Airlines face a backlog of delayed and cancelled flights after the incident affected over 20,000 flights due to a communication system failure.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy attributed the shutdown to contractor L3Harris replacing sections of the air traffic control system.

The router installed during this replacement is suspected to have caused the system overload.

Wire replacement

Duffy suggested the work created communication gaps, investigating if issues stem from contractor incompetence or faulty equipment.

L3Harris is cooperating with the FAA to understand the conditions leading to the disruption.

The FAA’s communications system faced overloads at 17 of its 22 centres, forcing departures to halt due to communication inconsistencies.

The FAA aims to replace its outdated copper system, spending $US1 billion annually, with fibre-based communication.

Operations are gradually returning to normal ahead of the Thanksgiving travel rush, affecting nearly 29 million passengers.

During the incident, nearly 10,000 flights were cancelled, including thousands on Delta Air Lines and American Airlines.

The disruption also impacted flights in Europe and Australia, with lingering delays expected.

The longest U.S. flight suspension since September 11, 2001, was not a cyber attack, according to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.