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US air travel issues to persist well into Sunday, officials say, with thousands of flights affected

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In short

The historic disruption began when contractor L3Harris installed at least one new router that flooded air traffic communication systems with rapid connection attempts. This technical failure destabilized operations across 17 of the nation's 22 en route air traffic centers and prompted the longest systemwide ground stop since September 11, 2001. Major domestic carriers saw up to 45 percent of their daily schedules eliminated as cancellations exceeded 14,500 over two days. Lawmakers and administration officials are now reviewing the operational failure while debating emergency federal funding packages to overhaul the network.

Key points

  • Technical failures at a single remote facility can rapidly overwhelm the majority of regi…: Technical failures at a single remote facility can rapidly overwhelm the majority of regional air traffic control centers.
  • Carriers including JetBlue, Delta, United, and American suffered severe schedule reductio…: Carriers including JetBlue, Delta, United, and American suffered severe schedule reductions that will require days to stabilize.
  • Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called for $50 billion in funding to modernize the na…: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy called for $50 billion in funding to modernize the nation's aging air traffic infrastructure.

Sources checked by our analysis pipeline: 1

The problem was traced to FAA contractor L3Harris' installation of at least one new router at a remote facility.

WASHINGTON: The head of the FAA predicted that US air travel would not return to normal schedules until late Sunday (Nov 15) as the aviation system gradually recovers from a nationwide flight shutdown that officials blamed on routine maintenance gone awry.

As of 4.15pm ET (9.15pm GMT), airlines on Saturday had cancelled more than 5,300 US flights and delayed almost 6,300, according to FlightAware, an aviation website. That followed about 9,200 flights cancelled and 7,500 delayed on Friday after the FAA ordered a nationwide ground stop because of disruptions to air traffic communications.

Federal Aviation Administration head Bryan Bedford said on Saturday that he expected airline operations to largely return to normal by late Sunday. He also apologised for the disruption, adding that the system remains stable.

The FAA issued a nationwide ground stop on Friday that halted nearly all departing flights for almost five hours. It was the longest nationwide halt to air travel since the attacks of Sep 11,…

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