The FAA lifted its nationwide suspension of U.S. takeoffs Friday night after more than four hours of disruption. (Foto: Instagram)
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted a nationwide suspension of takeoffs on Friday, Nov. 13, after more than four hours of disruption to air traffic. In a statement issued at about 10 p.m., the agency rescinded its earlier order, which had halted all departures for what it called “safety reasons” amid “extraordinary circumstances.”
More than 8,000 flights were canceled in the United States, according to flight-tracking site FlightRadar. Chicago’s O’Hare International Airport recorded 722 cancellations, Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport had 691, and Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport in Texas had 491. Airports in New York, Denver, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Boston, Newark, Washington and Seattle were also among those affected. An analysis by data company Cirium estimated that at least 1.5 million people were stranded because of cancellations.
The disruption also affected international travel. Air Canada said it would cancel all its flights to the United States for the rest of the night. Flights between Canada, the Caribbean and South America that pass through U.S. airspace could also be affected, the airline said. At the FAA’s request, Eurocontrol, the European air navigation coordination authority, suspended all departures bound for the United States from its 42 member countries. That suspension was scheduled to remain in place until 2 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 14, Brasília time. Flights to the United States from major airports in the Asia-Pacific region were also delayed.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the nationwide halt was prompted by instability at radar centers and in air traffic communications. He blamed the suspension on what he described as an “incredibly old air traffic control system.” Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said officials had found no evidence of a cyberattack, but said they were still examining possibilities and would not rule one out. He said investigators had not seen signs of an intrusion or identified anyone who had accessed the system.
The last nationwide suspension of U.S. takeoffs was in January 2023, following a failure in the system used to send notices to pilots. Before that, the measure had been used only once, after the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
