Residual Flight Delays Anticipated Sunday Due to Major FAA Warning System Outage
Over 500 flight delays were reported on Sunday morning due to the outage.
Flights across the United States may face “residual delays” on Sunday morning as the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) works to restore an essential warning system that encountered an outage the previous night, according to Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy on February 1.
“The [FAA] is actively working to fully restore the system, and there may be some residual delays on Sunday morning,” he added. “We are probing the root cause and will keep you updated.”
The notifications also inform pilots of possible adverse weather on flight paths, alterations in runways and taxiways at airports, and closed airspace that must be circumvented. The NOTAM system was established in 1947, inspired by similar alerts for maritime hazards. Over the years, the originally paper-based system has transformed into a digital warning platform.
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While it works independently from air traffic control systems that ensure safe separation of aircraft, NOTAM serves as another vital component of air safety.
A similar outage in January 2023 led to a brief halt in all flights across the United States, causing a significant air traffic backlog with over 1,300 flight cancellations and roughly 9,000 flight delays. The FAA indicated that an issue with a damaged database file was responsible for the outage.
Following an incident in 2017 where an Air Canada jet nearly landed on four planes awaiting takeoff at San Francisco International Airport, the National Transportation Safety Board criticized the presentation of these alerts.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
