A malfunction grounded all planes in the US

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) decided to ground stop flights across the country. The decision was announced in the USA on Friday afternoon, around midnight Türkiye time. "Extraordinary circumstances" and security were cited as reasons; The reason was listed as "equipment failure" on the FAA's website.

Departures are suspended until further notice

According to the warning sent by the Air Traffic Control System Command Center, planes cannot leave the gates and all flights scheduled to take off remain grounded "until further notice."

International flights coming to the USA will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. The warning was not visible on the command center's website at the time of writing.

What is the cause of the malfunction?

The FAA's website was also briefly unavailable and showed a "technical difficulties" note. An FAA spokesperson told TechCrunch that the decision was made due to communications issues affecting multiple airline traffic control centers.

US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said, "FAA technicians are investigating the problem." It is not yet clear what caused the malfunction.

In the same week, a new artificial intelligence-supported tool for air traffic controllers was launched. It is unknown whether this vehicle is related to the malfunction.

When will the departure ban end?

The FAA has not announced when takeoffs will resume. The duration of the ban depends on the resolution of the communication problem. Passengers with flights departing from the USA should follow the current announcements of the airline companies.