A failure affecting communications at air traffic control centers prompted the Federal Aviation Administration to suspend departures across the United States on Friday. It was the second nationwide shutdown of its kind since the attacks of September 11, 2001.
President Donald Trump said neither a cyberattack nor artificial intelligence appeared to be behind the disruption. Describing the problem as a telecommunications outage, the Homeland Security secretary urged people not to fear for relatives’ safety and said the situation was not another 9/11 attack.
The restrictions applied to aircraft awaiting takeoff, while thousands of planes already airborne retained permission to land. Congestion nevertheless complicated arrivals: with gates occupied, some aircraft remained on taxiways after landing.
FlightAware reported that cancellations exceeded 1,000 and almost 10,000 flights were delayed. The effects extended to international services, with departures from Canada and Europe canceled as the disruption spread outside the United States.
There were early signs of improvement in communications in some locations, according to airline officials. However, they said the FAA had given them no indication of when it would permit departures to resume.
