Telecommunications failure disrupts US airport departures; airline advises passengers to check flight status as operations gradually resume
Simran
Air India has warned of possible delays and disruptions to its flights to and from the United States following a nationwide ground stop imposed by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after a communication failure affected air traffic control operations.
The disruption initially halted departures from airports across the US, potentially affecting Air India’s international services. The airline advised passengers travelling to and from the country to check their flight status before leaving for the airport and make necessary adjustments to their travel plans.
In a statement posted on social media platform X, Air India said the nationwide ground stop had been imposed because of communication outages affecting air traffic operations. It added that the resulting restrictions could have a knock-on effect on its US-bound and India-bound flights.
The airline said its operational teams were monitoring the situation and would share further updates as they became available.
The FAA subsequently lifted the nationwide ground stop, but flight operations were expected to take time to return to normal, with residual delays likely to affect passengers.
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According to reports, the communication failure affected all 22 regional air route traffic control centres responsible for managing aircraft movements between airports
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The precise cause remained under investigation, although an initial report cited a possible network router problem, reportedly originating at Chicago Midway International Airport
US officials said the disruption appeared to be linked to telecommunications infrastructure. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said technical teams were investigating the failure, while authorities maintained that the temporary restrictions were necessary to protect aviation safety.
Flights already airborne during the ground stop were allowed to continue to their destinations and land, with officials assessing individual situations.
The incident highlights the vulnerability of aviation operations to failures in critical communication systems and could affect passengers on international routes until flight schedules and airport operations stabilise.
Additional confirmed updates incorporated: The latest report attributes the failure to overloaded switches and routers in an ageing air traffic control communications system. More than 4,000 flights were reportedly cancelled and over 10,000 delayed, affecting an estimated 1.5 million passengers. US officials said there was no initial indication of a cyberattack.
