The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has suspended all flights across the United States due to a telecommunications outage, leading to expected disruption for passengers travelling to and from UK airports. British Airways has cancelled a flight to New York that was due to depart from London Heathrow at 10.30pm on Friday.
Impact on UK Airlines
A spokesman for Manchester Airport confirmed that three US-bound flights scheduled to leave on Saturday morning, all operated by Virgin Atlantic, are likely to be affected if the issue is not resolved soon. A Virgin Atlantic spokesperson said: "We're aware of the ground stop order issued by the Federal Aviation Administration for all US airports."
"We're closely monitoring the situation and assessing any impact to our flights. We advise any customers due to travel to check their flight status at virginatlantic.com," the spokesperson added.
Government Response
US transportation secretary Sean Duffy said the FAA is investigating a communications issue affecting regional air traffic control centres, according to the Associated Press. This marks only the second occasion flights have been grounded across the US since the September 11 terror attacks in 2001; flights were previously suspended by the FAA in January 2023 due to a system error.
US homeland security secretary Markwayne Mullin said: "There is no reason for the public to be afraid or scared for your loved ones. This isn't another 9/11... This is a telecommunications outage." He added: "Throughout FAA, out of abundant of caution, we have grounded all the flights, and all the flights are accounted for."
Ongoing Disruption Expected
Mr Mullin noted that incoming international flights and those currently in the air will be dealt with case by case, with a priority list as they start coming in. He said there is no indication as of yet that this was a nefarious attack, describing it as "a telecommunications outage as of right now."
Mr Mullin acknowledged it is "a crisis" because of the nationwide ground stoppage, but said every agency with an asset involved is working together. He cautioned that it will take "some time" to resolve the issue, warning people not to expect things to be "turned around within the hour."
A spokesperson for American Airlines said: "The FAA has temporarily paused departures nationwide. Flights already in the air can continue to their destinations. We expect disruption to our schedule for the rest of the day, depending on the length of the FAA's nationwide ground stop." The spokesperson added: "It will be all hands-on deck across American to get customers on their way as soon as possible when the FAA lifts this ground stop."
