Headline RoundupJanuary 11th, 2023

FAA Orders Airlines to Halt US Departures Amid System Outage

Summary from the AllSides News Team

Update 10:00 EST: The FAA announced that "normal air traffic operations are resuming gradually across the U.S." The cause of the technical breakdown is still unknown.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is halting all U.S. departures, at least until 9:00am Wednesday morning, due to a system outage. The Notice to Air Missions system (NOTAM), which is used to alert pilots and airports of real-time hazards, went dark around 3:28am, causing thousands of delays and cancellations. The FAA is working to restore the system, and will provide frequent updates.

Key Quotes: "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.

For Context: NOTAM provides pilots with critical information regarding airspace closures, taxiway closures, or the presence of equipment near the runway. The NOTAM system failure comes about a week after the En Route Moderation (ERAM) failure, prompting the FAA to slow all flight traffic in Florida.

How the Media Covered it: The halting of all U.S. flights was covered by sources across the political spectrum, with all sources providing frequent updates from the FAA.

Featured Coverage of this Story

More headline roundups

AllSides Picks

More News about General News from the Left, Center and Right

From the Left

From the Center

From the Right