The United States of America has suspended all plane departures across all airports in the country.
The suspension of departures has affected over 7000 flights which have now been grounded.
Despite a widespread confusion and panic, especially among travelers, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has not given a definite reason behind the drastic decision, though a statement stated that a network glitch in the system used by Air Trafic Controllers (ATC) may be responsible for the “extraordinary situation.”
CNN quoted the FAA as saying that the closure was “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety,” the Federal Aviation Administration said. The issue was caused by a temporary telecommunications outage.”
News reports also indicates that the ground stop order is not a result of “threat to the US” or “cyber attack.”
One of America’s major carriers, Southwest Airlines informed its staff and customers that it is working with the FAA to solve the communication issue causing the nationwide ground stop.
“We are aware of the current nationwide ground stop and are actively working with the FAA for resolution,” the airline said in a message to its employees,” the airline’s statement read in part.
The US has over 19, 000 airports serving thousands of passengers daily. The lockdown which according to sources has “no end in sight” is a major disruption to global aviation industry as hundreds of flights go to and from the US from all continents of the world.