The technical glitch caused widespread disruptions across the country, leading to massive delays and flight cancellations. While departing flights were ordered to remain on the ground, international arrivals were permitted to land on an individual basis.
Impact on air travel
According to US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, the disruption was caused by a communication system failure that impacted all air traffic control centers. Technical specialists have been working to determine the exact cause of the malfunction.
Scale of flight disruptions
From the document
Movement must remain suspended until further notice. The issue of international flights will be decided on an individual basis.
The FAA, which has been operating since 1958 under the US Department of Transportation, implemented these restrictions to ensure safety while air traffic controllers adjusted the movement of aircraft already in the air. This event marks only the second time in US history that such a nationwide suspension has occurred, the first being following the September 11, 2001, attacks.
Air traffic services were eventually restored approximately five hours after the large-scale system failure occurred.
