I'm at Ronald Reagan Airport, one of the most strategic in the United States. It tends to get very busy on a Friday night. And today in the middle of the afternoon, at 3:54 pm local time, 5:54 pm Brasília time, pilots across the United States received an alert in the control cabin. It was a message informing that the FAA, the agency that regulates aviation here in the United States, was suspending all takeoffs from that moment on and that the aircraft should remain on the ground until further notice. The statement also said that aircraft that were already flying could continue their journey to their final destination and that for planes coming from other countries bound for the United States, the situation would be analyzed on a case-by-case basis. At that time, according to websites that control global aviation, there were more than 3,000 planes in American airspace and more than 30,000 flights scheduled for the rest of the day. Soon after, the FAA issued a statement on social media, reporting that there was a temporary interruption in telecommunications and, out of an abundance of caution, all flights were suspended. The FBI, the American Federal Police, rules out a hacker attack and is investigating whether there was a software failure. United States Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said the American government does not suspect foul play. He said that there is no evidence so far that this is a nefarious attack against the country and that it is just a failure in telecommunications. He tried to calm the population. He said: "This is not another September 11th." This is because these stoppages in takeoffs are very rare events that have only happened three times in recent decades, including on September 11, 2001. At the moment, more than 11,000 flights are delayed here in the United States and more than 1,100 flights have already been cancelled", says Felippe Coaglio.
"We are here in one of the three major airports that serve New York City and the metropolitan region. We can see that the airport is not full. It's a sign that many people have already decided to leave the airport and go home after their flights were cancelled. I spoke to a passenger who told me that his flight was rescheduled for Tuesday. Today is Friday. So, this is also a sign of this domino effect, which is already causing this crisis due to this failure of communication from the FAA, the United States aviation agency. Another passenger was already on the plane heading to Texas and, minutes before takeoff, the pilot informed them of the FAA's decision and all passengers got off the plane. This passenger is still here because the airline can't say what's going to happen, what time the flight will be, anyway. So there are some passengers in this situation here at the airport. I remember that the first announcement from the United States aviation agency was around 4pm local time", says Candice Carvalho.
"We are here at Guarulhos International Airport following this moment of delays. Right now, another company has just canceled its four flights. There were 15 flights to the United States: eight were cancelled, two were delayed and another five were still confirmed. Flights between 9pm and midnight this Friday (13). So, these flights are still confirmed. We talked to the companies here and they didn't say if they would cancel today. I also spoke to some passengers here. For example, Andreia, who was going to Los Angeles, her flight was cancelled. She had arrived here at the airport around 5pm, she was going to visit her daughter, but unfortunately the flight was canceled and there was no plan to reschedule that flight. She also said that she tried to talk to the people responsible at the counter and they told her to look for the chat. Of the 15 flights here, five are still confirmed", says Henrique Silva.
"Four flights to the United States are scheduled to depart here from Galeão Airport this evening and early morning. They still appear as scheduled here on the airport screen. The first from Delta to Atlanta leaves at 9:05 pm, then one from United to Houston at 9:55 pm, and another two from American Airlines to Miami at 10:15 pm and 11:55 pm. Aena, which is the airport's concessionaire, reported that it is monitoring the situation and awaiting a decision from the companies on the upcoming departures. Gol is also monitoring two flights scheduled for this evening, leaving from Orlando and Miami to Brasília. The company stated that the next decisions will prioritize safety. There is still no confirmation of cancellation of these flights. waiting at the airport, counting from the moment the delay, cancellation or interruption occurred.
