US air travel resumption will 'take time' after hours-long stop
Flights in the United States were resuming on Saturday after being grounded for several hours due to a major communications outage, though authorities said returning to normal operations would take time. The nationwide stop sparked widespread chaos and left hundreds of thousands of passengers in limbo, with some pulled off planes moments before departure by airline staff who appeared in the dark…
United States air travel resumed on Saturday following a multi-hour grounding caused by a widespread communication breakdown, though authorities emphasized that returning to normal operations would require considerable time. The disruption led to widespread confusion, leaving over six hundred thousand passengers stranded, some of whom were abruptly removed from their flights.
The incident, attributed to outdated technology, marked only the second national alert of its kind since the 9/11 attacks. Federal Aviation Administration officials lifted the stoppage after approximately four hours, with President Donald Trump's administration asserting no evidence of foul play.
The issue stemmed from decades-old telecommunications equipment, which had become overloaded. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy acknowledged the need for modernization, requesting $30.1 billion from Congress to upgrade the aging Air Traffic Control System. Despite the groundstop being lifted, the recovery process was expected to be lengthy, as evidenced by the cancellation of nearly six thousand flights, including some international routes.
At major airports across the nation, a scene of stranded passengers unfolded, with delays spiraling into hours-long wait times. At New York's LaGuardia Airport, frustrated travelers like Tiara Johnson struggled to comprehend the uncertainty surrounding their travel plans. "They just keep delaying it... So it started out at 7:55.
Then it went to 8:30, 9:30. Now it's at 10:30. So we don't know when it's gonna leave," she lamented. The situation was further complicated by conflicting information, with some passengers receiving misleading explanations for their flight delays.
The grounding, while unprecedented, was not the first of its kind. In January 2023, a pilot notification system failure caused a similar nationwide stop, but the previous national alert occurred in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks, when no aircraft took to the skies for days. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin dismissed any possibility of a cyber or artificial intelligence attack, emphasizing the lack of evidence supporting such theories.
He also ruled out a connection with a recent Microsoft outage that had disrupted email services globally.
The chaotic situation prompted travelers to seek alternative arrangements, with long queues forming at rental car counters at airports like Las Vegas. Some, however, found solace in the unexpected extra time, such as Kathy Sommers, who was returning home from a visit to friends in Las Vegas and was grateful for the extra day to prepare.
Written by urgent.news from Dawn's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
