A United Airlines flight taxis at O’Hare International Airport on December 13, 2022 in Chicago, Illinois. United Airlines voluntarily delayed flights before the FAA announced a full ground stop.
Scott Olson/Getty Images
Scott Olson/Getty Images
The Federal Aviation Administration is pausing all domestic flight departures until 9 a.m. ET after a technology outage reported overnight.
The FAA’s system for alerting pilots and airports of real-time hazards, called NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions), went dark around 3:28 a.m. ET.
“THE FAA is experiencing an outage that is impacting the update of NOTAMS. All flights are unable to be released at this time,” the FAA said in an advisory announcing the issue.
More than 1,200 flights had been delayed within, into or out of the United States as of 7:15 a.m. ET, shortly before the FAA announced the pause.
The FAA had opened a hotline to address equipment issues by 5:58 a.m. ET, as some NOTAM functions began to come back on line.
Airports and airlines nationwide were warning on Twitter before the ground stop that delays would be expected.
Attention #PHLAirport passengers- an FAA outage is impacting flights across the country. Check with your airline regarding your flight status. https://t.co/VNSa99NJt6
— PHLAirport (@PHLAirport) January 11, 2023
A tweet from American Airlines stated that that “all flights including all carriers” were impacted by the shortage.