Old System, Data Overload: What Led To US Grounding Over 8,000 Flights

The US witnessed a rare, brief grounding of departing flights - the second such incident since 9/11 - last night, leaving lakhs of passengers distressed at all airports across the country. The shutdown order was issued citing "extraordinary circumstances and reasons for safety". 

The halt, which reportedly grounded over 8,000 flights carrying 15 lakh fliers, was lifted today morning after the US authorities received the clearance of a possible threat and nefarious attack.

The ground stop lasted around four hours and was lifted at 8:15 pm (EST) -- 6:45 am (IST).

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) at 3:54 pm (EST) -- around 2:24 pm (IST) -- issued a nationwide ground stop for all departing flights from the US. In a later advisory, it identified the reason for the restrictions as a telecommunications outage affecting air route traffic control centres.

The aircrafts already in air were allowed to continue to their destinations and land during the shutdown.

A nationwide ground stop is an emergency air traffic control measure issued by the FAA that temporarily stops all new or scheduled domestic departures across the country.

Source : bbc.com