FAA suspends U.S. flights for second time after 9/11 due to communications outage

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) of the United States today ordered flights nationwide to suspend takeoffs due to problems with the communications system, and all flights preparing to take off at airports around the country were grounded. This is the second time since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001 that the United States has ordered flights to be suspended across the country.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated on social media that the Federal Aviation Administration ordered all airports in the United States to completely suspend flight departures because of communication system problems affecting Air Route Traffic Control Centers across the United States. FAA technical staff are currently investigating related issues.

According to the flight tracking website AirNav Radar, around 4:40 pm ET, there were still about 3,115 flights flying to airports across the United States. These flights were the last to take off before the nationwide grounding order came into effect.

The San Francisco Chronicle reported that the nationwide grounding order will cause flight delays and cancellations at airports across the United States. It is currently unclear how wide the impact will be and how many flights will be delayed or canceled.

U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said at a press conference that as of now, there are no prior signs that this is a malicious attack against the United States. Judging from the current situation, this is a telecommunications communication interruption incident. Everyone is safe and there is no need to worry about your relatives and friends who are flying or related safety issues.

Mullin said the Trump administration has not ruled out the possibility of a cyberattack, but there is currently no evidence pointing in this direction. He said Transportation Secretary Duffy had briefed President Donald Trump on the matter.

At San Francisco International Airport, shortly after 1:30 p.m. EST, air traffic controllers began to notify pilots on the tarmac via radio that flights would not be able to take off until at least 8 p.m. and that relevant instructions may still be adjusted.

This is the second time since the 9/11 terrorist attacks in 2001 that the United States has issued a nationwide order to suspend flights.

The last nationwide grounding occurred in January 2023, when the FAA's NOTAM system failed, preventing pilots from obtaining flight safety information that they were legally required to know before taking off.

The Air Route Control Center is responsible for managing high-altitude aircraft (aircraft) across the United States. There are currently 22 in the United States.

According to the technology media Gizmodo, the day before the communication outage occurred, the Federal Aviation Administration announced the full deployment of a set of AI-driven air traffic management tools called SMART at 22 air route control centers across the United States.

The FAA stated that this system only provides route planning suggestions, and the final decision remains in the hands of air traffic controllers. (Editor: Chen Chenggong)