UPDATED as of 10:30 a.m. ET 11JAN: As reported by the New York Times, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted its order to pause all domestic operations shortly before 9 a.m. ET. The agency said that “normal air traffic operations are resuming gradually across the U.S." As reported by CNN, transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg announced on Twitter at 8:54 a.m. ET that the outage "is fully restored."
According to Flight Aware, more than 5,400 flights within, into or out of the U.S. were delayed. Over 900 flights have been cancelled.
New York Times reports U.S. President Biden said that he had spoken with Buttigieg and asked him to report when a cause for the failure had been identified. According to the White House, there was no evidence of a cyberattack.
On early Wednesday 11JAN, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) experienced a system outage related to Notice to Air Missions (NOTAMS), resulting in flight disruptions across the U.S. and also flights from Canada into and out of the U.S.
As a result, the FAA has ordered all U.S. airlines to pause domestic operations until 9 a.m. ET "to allow the agency to validate the integrity of flight and safety information."
Update 3: The FAA is still working to fully restore the Notice to Air Missions system following an outage.⁰⁰The 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.
— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) January 11, 2023
As reported by ABC News, the outage is reportedly the result of a "computer failure." No further details on the cause of the outage were provided.
According to flight tracking web site Flight Aware, more than 1,200 flights were delayed within, into, or out of the U.S. as of 6:45 a.m. ET on 11JAN. An additional 933 flights were cancelled. NOTAMS alert pilots to information they need to know before flight, including hazards and changes to airport facilities and procedures, says CNN.
"The FAA is still working to fully restore the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system following an outage. While some functions are beginning to come back on line, National Airspace System operations remain limited," the FAA said on Twitter.
Cleared Update No. 2 for all stakeholders: ⁰⁰The FAA is still working to fully restore the Notice to Air Missions system following an outage. ⁰⁰While some functions are beginning to come back on line, National Airspace System operations remain limited.
— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) January 11, 2023
Airlines for America, an association representing U.S. airlines, says the outage is "causing significant operational delays."
In response, United Airlines has reportedly said it has temporarily delayed all of its domestic operations.
American Airlines said in a statement it is "closely monitoring the situation, which impacts all airlines, and working with the FAA to minimize disruption to our operation and customers."
The CBC reports that outbound flights from Canada to the U.S. are now showing delays at YYZ, with that airport advising pax on U.S. flights to check their flight status before heading to the airport.
