U.S. resumes flights after communications outage grounded planes; Canada offers help

OTTAWA — The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on Friday that it has lifted its order halting aircraft departures across the United States and that flights may resume. The order followed a widespread communications system fault that disrupted air traffic and forced hundreds of flights to be rerouted.

The decision came hours after U.S. authorities declared an extraordinary situation that led them to suspend departures nationwide for air safety reasons.

In Canada, Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said his country is ready to provide full assistance to U.S. authorities, including receiving aircraft bound for the United States when needed.

Order halting flights in the United States lifted

The FAA confirmed that aircraft departures may resume after it lifted the blanket stop order it imposed on Friday.

The order was issued after a communications problem was discovered that affected regional air traffic control centres in the United States.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy explained that the fault affected centres responsible for coordinating aircraft movements and monitoring their routes within U.S. airspace.

Authorities used the term "extraordinary circumstances" to justify the precautionary measure, which disrupted air traffic on a wide scale.

Although the order has been lifted, this does not mean all flights will immediately return to their usual schedules, as airlines need to deal with delays and reorganize aircraft and crews.

Hundreds of flights affected by the sudden fault

The halt on departures caused hundreds of flights to be rerouted, in addition to cancellations and delays of other flights within and outside the United States.

The effects of the crisis extended to Canadian airports, particularly those with direct flights to U.S. cities.

Toronto Pearson International Airport announced the cancellation of 50 departing flights to the United States and 59 arriving from there, according to data available during the period of disruption.

Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport also announced the cancellation of the remaining U.S. flights on Friday by Air Canada and Porter Airlines.

Flights were also affected at airports in Montreal, Ottawa, Calgary, Edmonton and Vancouver.

Canada offers full assistance to Washington

Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said Canada has offered full support to the FAA as it deals with the crisis.

In a post on X, he explained that the assistance includes receiving aircraft bound for the United States when alternative landing locations are needed.

The position comes amid the close links between the Canadian and U.S. aviation networks, with many flights crossing the shared border every day.

MacKinnon had earlier confirmed that Canada's air navigation systems were operating normally, despite the effect of the U.S. fault on cross-border flights.

Communications fault behind the aviation crisis

Duffy explained that the problem affected regional air traffic control centres responsible for directing aircraft between airports.

U.S. authorities have not announced the final technical cause of the fault, while preliminary information pointed to a disruption in communications services.

U.S. officials said there were no initial indications that the incident was linked to a terrorist act or a deliberate attack.

Resumption of flights does not mean delays are over

Despite the lifting of restrictions, airlines warned that disruptions will continue because of the backlog of postponed flights and disrupted operating schedules.

Companies need to redistribute aircraft and crews, in addition to providing alternative flights for passengers whose bookings were cancelled.

The effects may continue through the weekend, especially at airports with heavy traffic between the United States and Canada.

Travellers are advised to check the status of their flights before heading to airports and to contact airlines to learn about rebooking or refund options.

First nationwide halt since 2023

The incident is the first nationwide halt on aircraft departures in the United States since January 2023, when a failure in an FAA electronic system caused widespread disruption.

Before the 2023 incident, the United States had taken a similar measure after the September 11, 2001 attacks.

The new crisis highlights the importance of communications and air traffic control systems in ensuring flight safety, and how quickly the effects of technical failures can spread between airports linked to international aviation networks.

As departures resume, U.S. authorities continue to investigate the causes of the fault, while Canadian authorities monitor the return of cross-border air traffic to normal.