Over 4,000 Flights DELAYED in U.S. Following FAA System Outage

Update: The ground stop has been lifted and flights are expected to resume “normal” operations within the U.S. soon. Check below for the latest updates.

Planning to fly within the U.S. today? Well, get ready for some flight delays.

Flight delays and cancelations have impacted many airports and airlines over the past months and years, but today’s FAA system issues may cause an even more widespread impact.

In the early morning of January 11th, 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered airlines to pause ALL domestic departures (within the United States) until 9AM ET.

It appears the FAA’s Notice to Air Missions system experienced an outage and the FAA ordered the delay so they could restore the system and “validate the integrity of flight and safety information.”

Update 3: The FAA is still working to fully restore the Notice to Air Missions system following an outage.⁰⁰The FAA has ordered airlines to pause all domestic departures until 9 a.m. Eastern Time to allow the agency to validate the integrity of flight and safety information.

— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) January 11, 2023

As of around 7:19AM (ET) the FAA had indicated that they were still working to fully restore the system but they did previously indicate that “some functions” had started to come back on line. Still, the operation of the system remained limited.

The President of the United States has been briefed on the situation. As of this morning, there was no indication that the issue had been the result of a cyberattack, but the President has “directed DOT [the Department of Transportation] to conduct a full investigation into the causes.”

The President has been briefed by the Secretary of Transportation this morning on the FAA system outage. There is no evidence of a cyberattack at this point, but the President directed DOT to conduct a full investigation into the causes. The FAA will provide regular updates.

— Karine Jean-Pierre (@PressSec) January 11, 2023

As of around 8:08AM ET, over 3,000 flights within, into, or out of the United States appeared to have been DELAYED according to Flight Aware. Additionally, over 400 flights within, into, or out of the United States had been canceled.

Update: As of 8:59AM, numbers had increased to over 4,000 flights delayed and over 700 canceled.

FOX Business shares that the FAA system that experienced an outage — the Notice to Air Missions system — is one that “alerts pilots and other personnel about airborne issues and other delays at airports across the country.”

United Airlines has announced that they will be grounding all aircraft until 10AM ET because of the outage.

The Orlando International Airport has directed guests to check directly with their airline for updates.

Please check with your airline directly for the most up-to-date flight information prior to your travels and follow @FAANews for the latest update in regards to their system outage. Thank you. https://t.co/2X8BdMCC6t

— Orlando International Airport (@MCO) January 11, 2023

Given the potential for continued delays until the system issues are totally resolved and the ripple effect these delays could have on airlines in general, you’ll want to be prepared for potential delays (and even cancelations) today and perhaps within the next few days before things get “back to normal.”

Eric Burris later posted via Twitter that the FAA had the ground still listed until around 9:30AM ET. Though this situation could change.

The FAA has the ground stop also listed until 1430z, which is 9:30am eastern. pic.twitter.com/v3BPWctTe9

— Eric Burris (@EricBurrisWESH) January 11, 2023

Update: The FAA has since posted a Tweet saying that they are making progress in restoring their system. Departures are resuming at two airports and are expected to resume at other airports around 9AM ET.

Also, note that all flights in the air are “safe to land” but pilots have been directed to check the NOTAM system before they fly.

Update 4: The FAA is making progress in restoring its Notice to Air Missions system following an overnight outage. Departures are resuming at @EWRairport and @ATLairport due to air traffic congestion in those areas. We expect departures to resume at other airports at 9 a.m. ET.

— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) January 11, 2023

UPDATE: While the FAA is still looking into what caused the issue, “normal” air traffic operations are gradually resuming throughout the U.S. and the ground stop has been lifted.

Update 5: Normal air traffic operations are resuming gradually across the U.S. following an overnight outage to the Notice to Air Missions system that provides safety info to flight crews. The ground stop has been lifted.

We continue to look into the cause of the initial problem

— The FAA ✈️ (@FAANews) January 11, 2023

If you do have a flight scheduled for takeoff this morning, please reach out to your airline to see how your flight schedule may be impacted. We’ll continue to look for more updates, so stay tuned.