A nationwide ground stop imposed Friday afternoon by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) caused major disruptions at U.S. airports. Until the order was lifted more than four hours later, over 700 flights were canceled at Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports. Nationwide, the number of affected flights reached into the thousands.
The average delay at O’Hare and Midway in Chicago reached 306 minutes. At 7:19 p.m. Central Standard Time (CST), the FAA’s Air Traffic Control System Command Center issued a notice canceling the nationwide ground stop. The FAA imposed the order Friday, shortly before 3 p.m., citing “extraordinary circumstances” and safety concerns. Planes preparing to depart were ordered to remain on the ground until further notice, while arriving international flights were to be handled on a case-by-case basis.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said the halt in air traffic was caused by communication problems affecting all of the country’s Air Route Traffic Control Centers. He added that FAA technicians are investigating the matter.
According to data from FlyChicago, 710 flights were recorded at O’Hare and 42 at Midway as of 8 p.m. Friday. Before the nationwide order, the FAA, citing equipment failure, had halted departures of planes headed to O’Hare and Midway. Those restrictions took effect at 2:10 p.m. for O’Hare and 2:17 p.m. for Midway, and were initially set to remain in place until 3:30 p.m. At 3:40 p.m. Friday, the restrictions on flights to O’Hare and Midway were no longer listed on the FAA website that monitors the status of the national airspace.
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Source: Polski.FM
