Flights grounded across US due to communications system failure

All flight departures across the US were suspended on 13 November due to "extraordinary circumstances and reasons for safety". The country has experienced communications problems affecting its air traffic control system.

Source: Reuters, citing the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)

Details: According to the announcement, aircraft already in the air were allowed to land, but those on the ground were not permitted to take off.

Flight tracking service FlightAware reported that nearly 7,000 flights had been delayed or cancelled due to the nationwide suspension of departures.

The FAA stated that the ground stop at all airports across the country had been ordered because the failure affected several en-route air traffic control centres simultaneously. The agency's technical specialists are currently investigating the cause of the malfunction.

Reuters noted that this was only the second time all flight departures had been suspended nationwide in the US since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001.

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