FAA Mandated Ground Stop is Seeing Ripple Effect
Excerpt from CBS17
Flyers will be feeling the repercussions of Wednesday’s FAA-mandated ground stop of all fights nationwide for several days as the system rebounds from its cascade effect. What happened was last seen back on 9/11 when the FAA ordered a total nationwide ground stop of all flights, but this time, it wasn’t terrorism. This time, it was a technical problem. The nationwide ground stop impacted more than two million passengers booked on more than 19,000 domestic flights. For travelers, it’s frustrating.
Because the ground stop was a problem out of the control of airlines, rights are limited. You do have the right to a refund even if it’s a non-refundable ticket for any flights canceled or excessively delayed,’ Paul Hudson of Flyers Rights said. “It’s up to airline policies if they give you anything else,” he said.
How did all this happen?
An FAA system that sends out hazard notices to pilots in real-time went offline, causing the ground hold as the agency struggled to get it back working. CBS 17 asked Hudson if the system was outdated or needed to be fixed.
“It needs to be more robust,” Hudson said. “They need to have stress tests on those systems. The last time this particular one was updated was in 2015.”
The incident is now under the scrutiny of Washington D.C. North Carolina Congresswoman Deborah Ross told CBS 17, “They need to get to the bottom of this to prevent it from happening again.” She said the Secretary of Transportation has promised an investigation.
