Australians in the US are facing widespread travel chaos after a nationwide flight ground stop left thousands delayed, with some claiming they have been stranded.
On Friday local time, the US Federal Aviation Administration issued the order for departing flights in an extraordinarily rare move.
The government agency said the move was ‘due to extraordinary circumstances and reasons for safety’ and was understood to be linked to a communications issue affecting air route traffic control centres nationwide.
‘It is a developing situation, and there will be knock-on impacts for travellers,’ the Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA) said on Saturday.
The organisation said travellers departing soon were the priority and urged anyone due to take off in the next 72 hours to contact their travel agent, airline or tour operator immediately if they had not received any information.
For those due to depart after 72 hours, ATIA suggested they wait while earlier passengers are dealt with first.
Aussie Rivkah-Louise Brown is stranded at San Diego International Airport after her flight to Las Vegas, where she was due to meet her fiancé, was cancelled.
‘We actually haven’t heard a lot. You probably know more about it than what we do,’ she told ABC News on Saturday morning.
Aussie Rivkah-Louise Brown is stranded at San Diego International Airport after her flight to Las Vegas, where she was due to meet her fiancé, was cancelled
More than 10,000 flights were delayed and another 1,700 were cancelled in the US after the Federal Aviation Administration issued a nationwide ground stop on Friday local time
Air traffic control radar systems and radio frequencies reportedly went down simultaneously in multiple locations across the country. Pictured: people wait in a check-in line at Miami International Airport
‘Passengers are just using their phones to find out what’s happening… Flights have been delayed, flights have been cancelled or bumped, but that’s about it.’
Ms Brown spoke while waiting in a queue at Delta’s customer service desk, where she hoped to cancel her flights and make alternative travel arrangements.
‘I guess people have been cancelling their flights, getting hotels for the night. I’m planning to spend the night here and then I’ll get the bus to Vegas tomorrow,’ she said.
The Daily Mail has contacted Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for comment on how people overseas might be supported.
More than 10,000 flights were delayed and another 1,700 were cancelled as of 6pm Eastern Time, according to tracking service FlightAware.
The disruption followed an order from the FAA that all departing traffic in the US remain on the ground until further notice. A notice from federal officials said the ground stop was scheduled to last until at least 11pm local time.
Air traffic control radar systems and radio frequencies went down simultaneously in multiple locations across the country, an aviation source familiar with the situation told CNN.
While preliminary reports suggested the outage was not caused by a cyberattack, FBI personnel across the country were monitoring the situation, the source said.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there were no signs of foul play
Pictured: people wait at check-in kiosks at San Francisco International Airport in California
One possible cause for the massive ground stop reportedly being investigated is a software update gone wrong, leading to the systems outage, according to Bloomberg.
Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there were no signs of foul play.
‘There was no indication as of yet that this was a nefarious attack against us,’ he said, but added, ‘we’re not ruling out anything at this point.’
‘I want to make sure we say this again. There’s no reason for the public to be afraid or scared for your loved ones. This isn’t another 9/11. I just can’t repeat that enough.’
The last nationwide flight disruption of a similar scale occurred on January 11, 2023, after a failure in the FAA’s Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system.
Flights were also grounded and US airspace was closed following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
The status is declared when an air traffic control facility is completely unable to safely provide service due to severe issues like hazardous weather, equipment failure, fires or critical staffing shortages.
A nationwide ATC Zero declaration is extraordinarily rare, having occurred only a handful of times in modern aviation history.
