Communications outage had halted flight take-offs in the United States
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on Defimedia, La Nouvelle Tribune, Bénin Web TV, Business News and IOL
The United States suspended all take-offs from its airports on Friday 13 November after a communications outage affecting an old analogue system. The FAA then lifted the ban and authorised departures to resume, according to Business News.
Air traffic resumed across the United States overnight on Friday into Saturday, after a halt to take-offs nationwide that lasted more than four hours. Outdated air traffic control facilities, overwhelmed by an excessive volume of data, were behind this exceptional decision. According to Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, the first instabilities appeared at 3.36pm local time in several control centres. More than 3,500 aircraft were in American airspace when take-offs were suspended, and fewer than 400 were still airborne on Friday evening. According to FlightAware data, more than 9,500 flights were delayed and around 5,300 were cancelled.
Speaking at a White House press conference, Sean Duffy said the resumption would be gradual, depending on the availability of pilots, crews and aircraft. At airports, travellers had to wait on the tarmac, while others urgently sought replacement tickets or rental cars. Authorities found no evidence of an attack or security threat. The suspension ranks among the largest nationwide halts to US air traffic since the attacks of 11 September 2001.
