US aviation chaos to continue on Sunday as thousands of flights remain cancelled
Air travel disruption across the United States is expected to continue well into Sunday, November 15, after a technical failure in the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) air traffic control communications system triggered widespread flight cancellations and delays. Thousands of passengers remain stranded at airports as airlines struggle to restore normal operations following the nationwide disruption. FAA chief Bryan Bedford said on Saturday (local time) that flight schedules were unlikely to return to normal until late Sunday. The agency is continuing efforts to stabilise operations and resolve the technical problems that brought air travel across the country to a near standstill.
According to aviation tracking website FlightAware, airlines had cancelled more than 6,150 flights and delayed over 7,300 others across the United States by 6.45 pm ET (2345 GMT) on Saturday. The disruption followed an even worse day on Friday, when approximately 9,200 flights were cancelled and another 7,500 faced delays. Meanwhile, more than 530 flights scheduled for Sunday had also been cancelled by Saturday evening.
FAA chief apologises to passengers as disruption continues
Bedford apologised to passengers affected by the widespread disruption and assured them that the country’s aviation system remained stable. He said the FAA was working to restore normal operations and expected flight services to largely recover by late Sunday. However, the recovery process is proving challenging for airlines. Apart from dealing with cancellations and delays, carriers are also facing the task of repositioning aircraft, pilots and other crew members to resume their regular schedules.
The continuing disruption has left thousands of passengers stranded at airports across the country, with uncertainty over when their journeys will resume. Even as the FAA works to stabilise its systems, airlines are likely to face operational challenges as they attempt to bring their flight schedules back on track.
What caused the nationwide flight disruption in the US?
The crisis began on Friday after the FAA issued a nationwide ground stop, bringing almost all departing flights across the country to a halt for nearly five hours.
The suspension marked the longest nationwide interruption of air travel since the September 11, 2001, attacks. It also resulted in one of the worst single days for air travel in US history, with thousands of flights cancelled and delayed. The unprecedented disruption prompted an emergency meeting at the White House, where officials gathered in the Situation Room to assess the situation and examine its possible causes.
Initially, authorities considered whether a cyberattack could have triggered the breakdown in the aviation system. However, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy later said that the technical problem had been traced to the installation of at least one new router by FAA contractor L3Harris at a remote facility. With flight cancellations and delays continuing into Sunday, passengers and airlines are now awaiting a return to normal operations. The FAA has indicated that services are expected to largely recover by late Sunday, although the disruption has already created significant challenges for the country’s aviation network.
(Inputs by IANS)
Also read:
Trump, Xi and Putin to hold first-ever trilateral meeting in China next week
