US lifts nationwide flight ground stop after 4 hours of air traffic control outage, confirms no cyberattack
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was no indication as of yet that anything nefarious was behind the ground stop, but that it was a telecommunications outage.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted a US-wide ground stop of flights on Friday, after halting all departing flights due to safety concerns. The four-hour outage disrupted over 10,000 flights, including international services from Europe. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated there was no evidence of a cyberattack, but the cause was a telecommunications outage.
The FAA suspended departures nationwide to ensure flight safety, as the issue arose from communication problems at regional air traffic control centers. Around 11,000 flights carrying over 1.5 million passengers were scheduled to depart after 4 pm EST, potentially causing further cancellations and diversions. Officials emphasized that the measure was taken for safety while the problem was investigated, and no indications pointed to a deliberate attack.
Once the ground stop was lifted, departing flights resumed, and authorities ensured safe landings for those already airborne. Passengers were advised to verify their flight status before traveling.
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