US ground stop: Australian travellers face more flight delays, copper wire system blamed for shutdown

Flights across Australia are continuing to face delays on Sunday morning as airlines work to recover from a major aviation disruption in the US, where a nationwide ground stop brought air travel to a standstill for almost five hours.

The rare shutdown, ordered by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday local time, affected departing flights across the country and triggered widespread cancellations and delays, with disruption spreading to international routes including Australia.

Although US airspace was reopened after Washington lifted the order, the impact is continuing to ripple through airline schedules across the globe as carriers struggle get back into position.

The Australian Travel Industry Association (ATIA) warned it would take some time for airlines and airports to recover from the order.

“This is a developing situation and there will be knock-on impacts,” ATIA chief executive Dean Long said.

“If you’ve booked through an ATIA-accredited travel business, expect to hear from them or your airline.

“That is the most reliable way to get advice that fits your itinerary.”

A spokesman for Sydney airport told NewsWire flights from the airport were being delayed.

“We are aware of the nationwide ground stop issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration and are monitoring the situation closely,” the spokesman said.

“At this stage, some US bound flights due to depart Sydney Airport are grounded.

“Passengers travelling to or via the United States should check with their airline for the latest information regarding their flight.”

Federal Transport Minister Catherine King said Australian airspace systems had not experienced a similar issue.

“We have been advised by our safety agencies, CASA and Airservices, that our systems have not been impacted and domestic operations are continuing to operate as normal,” Ms King said.

But she said passengers affected should “contact their airline for the latest updates, monitor media and follow the advice of local authorities”.

FAA says copper wire system caused ground stop

US officials have now pointed to a single router installed by government contractor L3Harris during work to upgrade the country’s ageing air traffic control communications network as the likely trigger for the disruption.

US Transport Secretary Sean Duffy said the router began flooding other devices in the network with more than 1,000 connection attempts every four to five seconds.

“This was an FAA system that didn’t meet the moment,” Mr Duffy said on Saturday, with government officials warning the system will fail again until it is properly upgraded.

He said L3Harris was conducting routine maintenance to switch telecommunication lines from old copper wire to fibre at at least one remote location.

Officials told Reuters there may have been problems with routers installed in both Arkansas and Texas.

“We’re working to determine whether we had incompetence, meaning was it user error or installer error from L3Harris, or did they install a faulty router? We haven’t determined what the fault was,” Duffy said.

L3Harris said it took the issue seriously and was “supporting the FAA in its investigation to understand the conditions that led to the Nov. 13 ground stop of our nation’s air travel”.

L3 noted it has completed more than 70 per cent of the planned airspace communications conversion from legacy copper wires to a fibre-optic system.