Normal flight operations resumed gradually in the United States after hours of delays following a technical failure in the system of the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). Over 5,000 flights were delayed and more than 900 canceled because of the outage on Wednesday morning.
Disruptions were reported at almost all major US airports — the second US aviation crisis in a matter of weeks. Passengers took to social media to report flight delays from Hawaii to Washington. Passengers have complained about the lack of information and communication from the FAA and airlines.
Recently, a huge winter storm caused extensive disruption of flights, especially those of Southwest Airlines, affecting thousands of passengers.
READ | US: Stranded Passengers React On Social Media As System Failure Leads To Widespread Flight Delays
US Flights Afftected Due To Technical Glitch: Latest Developments
- The US aviation body said that all aircraft in the sky were safe to land as it lifted a ground stop order that brought flights to a standstill for several hours.
- The FAA said there was a problem with the system, known as NOTAM, that alerts pilots to potential hazards on flight routes.
- NOTAM — Notice to Air Missions — is a notice alerting pilots on possible runway closures, general bird hazard warnings, or low-altitude construction obstacles.
- The White House said in a statement that there was “no evidence of a cyberattack”. US President Joe Biden has ordered a thorough investigation into the incident.
- United Airlines warned passengers that they might continue to see delays and cancellations. The airline also said it would issue a travel waiver and offer refunds.
- India said the glitch had no impact on flights from India to the United States and operations were normal at all the airports.
- The Paris airports said all flights by American airline companies were delayed. Frankfurt Airport in Germany said the outage had not affected its operations.
- More than 21,000 flights are scheduled to take off in the US on Wednesday, mostly domestic trips, and about 1,840 international flights expected to fly to the US, AP reported, citing aviation data firm Cirium.
(With inputs from agencies)
