Communication glitch causes nationwide flight ground stop in US
A network error involving outdated equipment and high connection attempts halted flights for over four hours on Friday, according to the Times of India.
A communication glitch in the network connecting air traffic control centres caused a nationwide flight ground stop in the US for more than four hours on Friday, the Times of India reported. The disruption affected the communication and radar feeds used to manage aircraft.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said a contractor was working to replace old copper wiring with fibre-optic cables at a remote site on Friday afternoon. This work coincided with a surge of over 1,000 connection attempts every 4 to 5 seconds, which put pressure on the system.
Duffy stated that the issues with communication and radar feeds led to the decision to shut down the airspace to ensure safety. He noted that aircraft already in the air were able to land safely by following established procedures.
The incident has highlighted the need for infrastructure modernisation. While Congress approved $12.5 billion last year for an overhaul, Duffy urged the body to allocate more funds during news conferences on Friday and Saturday.
Michael McCormick, a former airspace manager with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), described the incident as a rolling outage. He said such an outage is unpredictable and can move between different control centres rather than staying in one location.
