All US domestic flights grounded after FAA system outage. Here’s why

Flights across the US have been grounded because of a system outage at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). 

The FAA is the US government agency which oversees many aspects of America’s aviation, including air traffic management. 

The issue is affecting the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system, which provides piliots with real-time information about changes and potential hazards on flight routes. 

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“The FAA is working to restore its Notice to Air Missions System. We are performing final validation checks and reloading the system now. Operations across the National Airspace System are affected,” the FAA said in a tweet posted this morning. 

“The FAA is still working to fully restore the Notice to Air Missions system following an outage. The FAA has ordered airlines to pause all domestic departures until 9 a.m. Eastern Time to allow the agency to validate the integrity of flight and safety information,” it later added.

The exact nature of the computer issue is yet to be disclosed, but the White House has said there’s currently no evidence it’s due to a cyber attack.
However, the importance of the NOTAM system to flight safety means that, for now, all flights within the US have been grounded.  Airports and air carriers have warned travellers that they should expect delays. 

“The FFA system that sends out important real-time flight hazards and restrictions to all commericial airline pilots – Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) – is currently suffering a nationwide outage,” United Airlines said in a statement. 

“United as temporarily delayed all domestic flights and will issue an update when we learn more from the FFA,” it added. 

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“We’re closely monitoring a data issue with the FAA that may impact the start of operations today Jan 11, 2023,” said a tweet by Southwest Airlines. 

“An FAA system outage is causing ground stops at AUS and other airports across the country. Arriving & departing passengers can expect delays this morning & through the day,” said a tweet posted by Austin-Bergstrom International Airport.