UK resumes US flights after FAA lifts ground stop; further disruption expected: Report

Detailed summary

The authority cautioned that the lifting of the ground stop does not mean an immediate return to normal operations, as airlines are likely to face disruption | World News

The United Kingdom on Saturday resumed flights to and from the United States after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted its ground stop. The UK Civil Aviation Authority however warned that further disruption was expected as airlines work to rebook passengers affected by the suspension, news agency Reuters reported.

Earlier, some flights from the UK to the US were delayed or cancelled on Saturday morning, the BBC reported. British Airways said that “it may take some time to get all flights on their way”.

Also Read | US lifts ground stop after thousands of US flights halted, but disruptions may last

The authority cautioned that the lifting of the ground stop does not mean an immediate return to normal operations, as airlines are likely to face continued disruption while clearing the backlog of affected passengers.

Airlines are working to rebook passengers whose travel plans were affected by the suspension, with knock-on delays expected as operations gradually return to normal.

The FAA grounded all departing flights across the country for only the second time since the September 11, 2001, attacks, citing "extraordinary circumstances" triggered by communications problems at regional air traffic control centres.

The disruption led to more than 10,000 flight delays and around 4,000 cancellations, according to data from FlightAware.

The outage appeared to have affected a telecommunications network managed by L3Harris Technologies, which handles critical radio frequencies used by air traffic controllers to communicate with pilots, a Wall Street Journal report said. However, it remained unclear whether the disruption had also affected radar feeds used to maintain safe separation between aircraft during flights.

The ground stop caused widespread disruption at several major US airports, leaving thousands of passengers stranded in long queues as they waited for updates on their flights.

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