System failure grounds domestic flights across US

All domestic flights across the United States were on Wednesday grounded after a major system failure led to computer outage at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Pilots and flight personnel were alerted when the hazards and changes to airport facility services and relevant procedures were not processing updated information, leading to the suspension of hundreds of flights, the civil aviation regulator’s website said, while promising it was working to restore its Notice to Air Missions System.

“United States FAA 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,” US Federal Aviation Administration said on Twitter.

The failure, according to aviation experts, resulted in some 700 cancelled flights across the US while the FAA ordered airlines to pause all domestic departures until 9 am Eastern Time to allow the agency to validate the integrity of flight and safety information.

The US Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC), also issued an advisory that the United States NOTAM system failed and since then no new amendments have been processed.

“The United States NOTAM system failed in 2028Z. Since then, no new NOTAMS or amendments have been processed. Technicians are currently working to restore the system and there is no estimate for restoration or service at this time,” the ATCSCC advisory read.