Flights 'resuming gradually' across the country following FAA system outage

Pras Subramanian

The FAA said air traffic operations are gradually resuming after flights were grounded this morning due to an outage with an important Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) system for pilots.

Earlier this morning the FAA said it was grounding all flights until 9 a.m. ET this morning in order to “validate the integrity of flight and safety information,” stemming from an outage with its Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system.

Per an update from the FAA, the ground stop has been lifted and "air traffic operations are resuming gradually across the United States." The FAA continues to look into the cause of the problem, the agency said.

The NOTAM system sends out flight hazards and restrictions to pilots prior to takeoff. A NOTAM bulletin can sometimes be as long as a couple hundred pages detailing issues like possible bird activity or closed runways.

Travelers wait in the terminal as an Alaska Airlines plane sits at a gate at Los Angeles International Airport in Los Angeles, on January 11, 2023. - The US Federal Aviation Authority ordered a temporary halt to all domestic flight departures Wednesday, after a major system outage that disrupted air traffic across the country. Airlines and airports were left scrambling with news of the nationwide pause, as the White House said there was no immediate evidence of a cyberattack. (Photo by Stefani Reynolds / AFP) (Photo by STEFANI REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images)

Flights currently in the air are allowed to travel to their destinations, however all flights scheduled to take off were grounded.

Per the Air Traffic Control System Command Center, the NOTAM system went down around 3:28 am ET.

ABC News reported that a senior official briefed on the matter said the software issue led to a “cascading” series of IT failures, leading to this morning’s flight groundings.

As of 7:15 a.m., more than 1,200 flights had been delayed into or out of the U.S., which was shortly before the FAA announced the pause.

Airline stocks are all trading lower in the pre-market before the opening bell on Wall Street.

This story is developing. Check back for updates.

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Pras Subramanian is a reporter for Yahoo Finance. You can follow him on Twitter and on Instagram.

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