Flight Grounds Across US: 'No Signs of Hostile Attack'

The Federal Aviation Administration FAA has issued a national flight ban in the United States. No planes have been allowed to take off since 22:00 Swedish time. They cite "extraordinary circumstances" and according to Markwayne Mullin, the stoppage is due to a telecommunications outage that has affected all air traffic control centers throughout the United States.

He states that all passengers in the air are safe.

- There is no cause for fear. We are investigating the issue as best we can.

The FAA does not currently have a forecast for when the suspension may be lifted.

The New York Times writes that many planes are likely to be diverted to smaller airports because the major airports are filled with planes that cannot take off.

SAS currently has five planes in the air that are on their way to the United States, the company's press manager Alexandra Lindgren Kaoukji says at 11 p.m. Swedish time.

- The US has announced that they will prioritize international incoming traffic and handle it "case by case". That is the information I have at the moment, she says.

No planes are currently permitted to take off, and planes bound for the US will be handled on a case-by-case basis. The BBC, citing the site Flightradar24, states that 3,000 planes are currently on their way to the United States.

According to ABC News, that will mean massive delays throughout the day and night US time.

Reuters says nearly 7,000 flight departures have already been affected, and according to the New York Times, over 30,000 departures are scheduled for the rest of the day.

According to Reuters, the FAA states that passengers in the air can expect long waiting times because it is not clear when the stop can be lifted.

According to CNN, this is the second time since the 9/11 attacks in 2001 that the FAA has ordered a national flight shutdown. In January 2023, the authority issued a flight ground after the pilot messaging system suffered interference.

Congress in the United States pushed last year to 12.5 billion dollars for the FAA. The money was earmarked to improve the FAA's antiquated communications system. Earlier this week, the Trump administration asked for an additional $30 billion to upgrade the FAA's systems, Reuters reports.

The text is updated