Technology
FAA system outage halts all national flight departures
More than 3,700 flights have been affected since 8:20 a.m., according to the website FlightAware, which tracks flight delays and cancellations. At least 656 flights have been canceled so far
January 11, 2023 8:41am
Updated: February 19, 2023 2:18pm
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) halted all domestic flight departures across the United States on Wednesday after there was an outage in the system that sends messages to pilots.
The FAA said that all domestic departing flights would be paused while it was working to restore the Notice to Air Missions System, which sends pilots pre-flight safety notices, including information about flight restrictions, hazards, and broken equipment. However, all flights currently in the air are able to land, the agency added.
"We are performing final validation checks and repopulating the system now," the FAA said in a statement. "Operations across the National Airspace System are affected. We will provide frequent updates as we make progress."
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg briefed President Joe Biden on the situation and is carrying out an investigation to find out what caused the outage.
"I just spoke with Buttigieg," Biden told reporters. "They don't know what the cause is. But I was on the phone with him for the last 10 minutes. I told them to report directly to me when they find out. Aircraft can still land safely, just not take off right now."
“There is no evidence of a cyberattack at this point, but the President directed DOT to conduct a full investigation into the causes,” White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said in a tweet.
More than 3,700 flights have been affected since 8:20 a.m., according to the website FlightAware, which tracks flight delays and cancellations. At least 656 flights have been canceled so far.
This is a developing story.
