US air travel disruptions to persist into Sunday, thousands of flights hit

详细摘要

A router malfunction in the FAA communications system triggered widespread flight cancellations and delays across the United States. The disruption renewed scrutiny of ageing air traffic infrastructure and demands for additional modernisation funding.

Air travel disruptions across the United States are expected to continue well into Sunday, with thousands of flights cancelled or delayed as airlines struggle to restore normal operations following a nationwide shutdown triggered by problems in the Federal Aviation Administration's (FAA) air traffic control communications system.

FAA chief Bryan Bedford said on Saturday that flight schedules were unlikely to return to normal until late Sunday, even as the agency worked to stabilise operations and address the technical issues behind the disruption.

Airlines had cancelled more than 6,150 flights and delayed over 7,300 others across the US by 6.45 pm ET (2345 GMT) on Saturday, according to aviation tracking website FlightAware. The disruption followed an even worse day on Friday, when around 9,200 flights were cancelled and 7,500 delayed. More than 530 flights scheduled for Sunday had also been cancelled by Saturday evening.

Bedford apologised to passengers for the disruption, saying the aviation system remained stable and that the FAA expected operations to largely recover by late Sunday.

The continuing disruption has left thousands of passengers stranded at airports, with airlines facing the additional challenge of repositioning aircraft, pilots and other crew members to resume regular schedules.

The disruption began on Friday after the FAA ordered a nationwide ground stop, halting almost all departing flights for nearly five hours. It was the longest nationwide suspension of air travel since the September 11, 2001 attacks and one of the worst single days for US air travel.

The White House convened an emergency meeting in its Situation Room as officials initially examined whether the disruption could have been caused by a cyberattack. However, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the problem was traced to the installation of at least one new router by FAA contractor L3Harris at a remote facility.

Duffy said the agency was still investigating whether the failure…

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