AICM Says 40 Flights and Thousands of Passengers Hit by US Ground Stop
A nationwide FAA ground stop disrupted 40 flights and more than six thousand passengers at Mexico City's airport. What changed for US flights from Mexico and what comes next.
A nationwide halt to departures ordered by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) disrupted 40 flights and more than six thousand passengers at the Benito Juárez International Airport (AICM), Mexico City’s main airport, according to the airport. The restrictions hit flights to and from the United States while US air traffic control struggled with a telecommunications failure.
The FAA lifted the suspension after more than four hours, El Financiero reported. Mexico’s aviation regulator says schedules for US-bound flights will take time to recover, and US airlines warned that delays and cancellations could last several hours as planes and crews are moved back into position.
What it means for travelers in Mexico
Across the country, the Federal Civil Aviation Agency (AFAC), Mexico’s aviation authority, said schedules were adjusted on 193 flights because of the suspension, affecting just over eighteen thousand passengers. The AICM figures cover only Mexico City’s airport. The national count from AFAC is larger.
AFAC expects flights to US cities to come back gradually over the next few hours. In a statement, the agency said airlines will tell passengers their new departure times, and that Mexico’s international airports will be ready to receive aircraft arriving from the United States. Departure times on US routes may therefore keep shifting after the FAA’s order ended.
What caused the US flight halt
US aviation authorities said a communications failure hit air traffic control centers nationwide, and the FAA kept all departing flights on the ground until further notice, citing extraordinary circumstances and safety concerns. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the problem affected every center that manages en route traffic, meaning the planes flying at high altitudes.
The FAA blamed a temporary telecommunications failure, but the exact cause was still under investigation. A person familiar with the matter told reporters that the FBI does not believe a cyberattack or criminal activity was behind it. Investigators were looking at whether a software update could have triggered the failure, and whether it had anything to do with the nationwide rollout of a new artificial intelligence system that helps spot problems and reroute planes. That system runs from a site near Washington, D.C., and only sends recommendations to control centers.
Only the third nationwide stop in US history
This was just the third time a nationwide stop of flights has been ordered in the United States. The earlier cases were a 2023 failure in the FAA system that sends safety notices to pilots and dispatchers, and the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.
The outage comes as the FAA works through a broad upgrade of its aging air traffic control equipment, paid for with twelve and a half billion dollars approved by Congress. Old copper cables have been swapped for fiber optic lines, and older radio systems are being replaced bit by bit at airports around the country. Duffy has said another $30 billion will be needed to finish the job, and the White House has begun pressing Congress to approve it.
Aviation safety expert Steve Arroyo, a former United Airlines pilot, said the failure looked like a regional air traffic communications outage in September that complicated hundreds of flights in the US Northeast, this time on a national scale. He said it could be connected to the outdated technology controllers use. If controllers lose the ability to talk to aircraft, he said, planes have to stay on the ground rather than take off with the risk of losing contact.
Source: telegra.ph
