Thousands more flights were canceled on Saturday after the Federal Aviation Administration lifted a nationwide groundstop that halted departures for about four hours on Friday, according to federal officials. Airlines have canceled more than 3,200 flights so far on Saturday, on top of over 9,000 on Friday. More than 800 delays were reported early Saturday, following nearly 7,000 on Friday.
Cancellations mount after Friday halt
The FAA halted departures shortly before 4 p.m. Eastern on Friday, citing extraordinary circumstances and safety concerns. Officials said more than 3,500 planes were in the air when the order took effect. Airports became gridlocked with too many aircraft on the ground and not enough parking space. Hundreds of flights turned back or diverted. Officials said flights would resume in a slow, controlled manner, prioritising larger passenger jets over smaller aircraft.
Friday was among the worst days this year for cancellations, according to aviation-data provider FlightAware, surpassed only by a January winter storm that caused over 11,600 cancellations in one day. Cirium, another aviation-data firm, said more than 30% of U.S. departing flights were canceled on Friday.
Officials blame outdated systems
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at a White House press conference that an “incredibly old air-traffic control system” was to blame, pointing to telecom routers that “actually got overloaded with data.” He urged Congress to fund upgrades he estimated at $50 billion. Without an overhaul, Duffy said outages could recur, noting earlier disruptions in the Northeast in September and around Newark Liberty International Airport last year. “You will have more of these,” he said.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was no indication so far of a cyberattack. He said the outage appeared tied to the FAA “putting patches into the system,” and that new equipment and technology were “overwhelming the older system.”
Telecom network under scrutiny
The outage appeared to be related to a telecommunications network overseen by L3Harris Technologies, according to government and industry officials. Some industry officials briefed on the matter said there were timing issues affecting data synchronisation throughout the network, which handles crucial radio and radar feeds for air-traffic controllers. An L3Harris spokeswoman did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Officials said that once the groundstop ended, the FAA was responsible for the turmoil in the nation’s airspace it oversees.
Airlines, airports and travellers feel the strain
Even with the departure ban lifted, airlines prepared for a difficult reset. Some carriers had already scrubbed most of their remaining Friday schedules. The pause left planes and crews out of place, which officials said would likely create cascading problems into the weekend. “It’s going to take us some time to unwind what’s happened,” Duffy said. He encouraged college football teams to contact the FAA to ensure their chartered jets can make weekend games.
United Airlines said it would work with customers to get them to destinations once the issue is resolved. American Airlines said: “It will be all hands on deck across American to get customers on their way as soon as possible.” Several airlines issued waivers to allow travellers to rebook without penalty.
At some airports, including New York’s LaGuardia, travellers waited in long lines to retrieve checked bags before heading home. At Newark, security lines were empty as people checked phones for updates. At Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, ground traffic appeared to stop on the tarmac late Friday, and by early evening telecom systems at some FAA facilities were coming back online.
Travellers reported disrupted plans. Brooklyn musician John Sturino said he would miss a percussion convention in Indianapolis and sought a refund at a Delta lounge desk in LaGuardia. “It wasn’t worth staying in the airport,” he said. Sara Garven, 66, was stranded in Baltimore during a layover on a trip home to Wisconsin from Sarasota, Florida. She said overhead announcements every 30 minutes offered no more detail than online updates. “Our main concern is just getting home safely,” she said.
Context
This is the second time in recent years the FAA has taken the extraordinary step of halting all departures across the country. In 2023, a nationwide groundstop was ordered.
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