U.S. Air Travel Recovery After FAA Ground Stop

Timeline

High importance

Telecom upgrade overloaded air traffic control system

14 Nov, 21:34 UTC

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the disruption began when contractor L3Harris Technologies Inc. was replacing old copper wire with fiber wire, overloading the system.

Over three-quarters of regional air control centers affected

14 Nov, 20:23 UTC

Intermittent frequency instability on Friday affected more than three-quarters of U.S. regional air control centers, according to FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford.

High importance

Contractor work identified as cause of ground stop

14 Nov, 16:28 UTC

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that contractor work by L3Harris triggered Friday's nationwide ground stop.

High importance

FAA lifts nationwide ground stop

14 Nov, 01:15 UTC

The FAA lifted its nationwide ground stop at approximately 8:15 p.m. EST on Friday.

High importance

Air traffic operations fully resumed

14 Nov, 00:00 UTC

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced on Saturday that air traffic operations had fully resumed following Friday's telecommunications failure and ground stop.

High importance

Ground stop lasted over four hours

14 Nov, 00:00 UTC

Friday's nationwide FAA ground stop lasted more than four hours, marking the longest U.S. airspace shutdown since 9/11.

High importance

FAA issues nationwide ground stop

13 Nov, 21:44 UTC

The FAA issued a nationwide ground stop for all departing US flights on Friday, delaying or canceling nearly 7,000 flights.

Air traffic control technical instability begins

13 Nov, 20:36 UTC

Technical instability in air traffic control systems began at 3:36 p.m. ET on Friday.

Copper wire upgrade issue caused nationwide ground stop

Time unknown

Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said the nationwide ground stop was caused by an issue following a copper wire upgrade that flooded air traffic control systems.

Over 530 Sunday flights cancelled by Saturday evening

Time unknown

More than 530 flights scheduled for Sunday had been cancelled by Saturday evening.

High importance

FAA expects flight schedules to normalize late Sunday

Time unknown

FAA chief Bryan Bedford said flight schedules were unlikely to return to normal until late Sunday as the agency works to resolve technical problems.

Chicago airports issue ground stop alerts

Time unknown

O'Hare and Midway airports issued ground stop alerts due to an equipment outage shortly before the FAA's nationwide order.

High importance

Communication issues triggered nationwide ground stop

Time unknown

The FAA halted all domestic flights on Friday due to communication issues impacting multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers.

U.S. Flights Cancelled6,272 flights
U.S. Flights Delayed7,639 flights

Details

Air traffic operations have resumed following Friday's nationwide FAA ground stop, though 6,272 U.S. flights were canceled and 7,639 were delayed on Saturday, with over 530 Sunday flights already canceled.

Last checked 15 Nov, 04:52 UTC