'Extraordinary circumstances': US grounds all departing flights over safety concerns

US grounds all departing flights over safety concerns

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday ordered a nationwide ground stop, citing “extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety”, after a communications outage affected air traffic control operations across the country.The FAA directed all departing flights to remain grounded until further notice, while inbound international flights would be handled on a case-by-case basis. The agency also warned that equipment outages could lead to airborne holding at airports across the national airspace system.The FAA had earlier announced a ground stop at Chicago O'Hare International Airport due to a communications issue, according to its website.US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the communications problem had affected all 22 regional air traffic control centres responsible for directing aircraft travelling between airports nationwide. FAA technicians were investigating the issue.US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was no indication that the outage was the result of a deliberate attack.“There is no indication yet that "this was a nefarious attack against us.

It's just a telecommunications outage,” Mullin said.“Everybody's safe. There's no reason to be concerned about your loved ones if they're flying,” he added.Authorities have not provided a timeline for resuming normal flight operations. Mullin said investigators would also examine whether the outage was linked to the FAA's nationwide rollout of a new artificial intelligence system designed to identify problems and recommend alternative flight routes.

However, the system operates from a single location near Washington, DC, and sends recommendations to air traffic control centres.The nationwide ground stop was the first since January 2023, when a malfunction in a key FAA computer system disrupted flight operations. Before that, a similar nationwide restriction had been imposed following the September 11, 2001, attacks.The disruption has also drawn attention to the ageing technology used by the country's air traffic control system. The government has been working to modernise the infrastructure since Congress approved $12.5 billion for the project last year. The overhaul includes replacing miles of ageing copper wires with fibre-optic lines and gradually upgrading radio systems at airports across the country.However, significant work remains. Duffy has said an additional $30 billion would be required to complete the modernisation, with the White House lobbying Congress to approve the funding.