US halts all flight departures nationwide over air traffic communication failure
On 13 November the US suspended departures of all flights after a communications problem hit the air traffic control system. Nearly 7,000 flights were delayed or cancelled.
The United States suspended the departure of all flights across the country on 13 November, citing extraordinary circumstances and safety concerns. The cause was a communications problem in the air traffic control system, Reuters reported, citing the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the US agency that oversees civil aviation.
According to the FAA's notice, aircraft already in the air may land, but those on the ground are not allowed to take off.
Impact on flights
Flight-tracking service FlightAware said that nearly 7,000 flights were delayed or cancelled because of the nationwide halt on departures.
What happened
The FAA explained that the stop was ordered at all airports in the country because the failure affected several en-route air traffic control centres at once. The agency's technical specialists are currently working to establish the cause of the malfunction.
Reuters notes that this is the second time since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001 that all departures have been halted across the United States.
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