Instability in a system that allows communications between the Federal Aviation Administration, air traffic controllers, and pilots was responsible for the country’s most disastrous nationwide ground stop in air traffic since September 11. The ground stop lasted five hours.
\n\nSeveral outlets reported that a failure in the FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure or FTI network, was linked to the FAA’s decision to declare a ground stop. The FTI is the private communications backbone for the air traffic control system. The system is in the midst of a major, multi-year modernization project, which involves replacing a decades-old network of copper wire with high-speed fiber-optic cables. The FAA has said the update will reduce outages and outage-related delays, and make the system safer. It will also be equipped to more easily handle newer aircraft, including drones, electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOLs), and other “air taxis.”
\n\nAt the time the ground stop was lifted on Friday evening, over 6,300 flights within, into, or out of the US had been canceled, according to the aviation tech company FlightAware; 9,500 had been delayed. Freight and mail flights have also been affected. It will likely take days, if not weeks, for airlines to reposition aircraft and…
Original source: https://www.wired.com/