New Delhi : Air travel between the United Kingdom and the United States resumed on Saturday after the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) removed a nationwide ground stop that had disrupted flights across the country.
However, the return to operations has not brought immediate relief for passengers, with the UK Civil Aviation Authority warning that delays and cancellations could continue as airlines work to restore normal schedules.
Several transatlantic services experienced disruptions on Saturday morning. British Airways also cautioned that clearing the backlog and getting all scheduled flights operating would take considerable time.
The FAA had imposed the unprecedented nationwide departure suspension following what it described as “extraordinary circumstances”, linked to communication failures at regional air traffic control centres.
According to reports, the disruption involved a critical telecommunications network operated by L3Harris Technologies, which supports radio communications between pilots and air traffic controllers.
The aviation shutdown reportedly resulted in more than 10,000 flight delays and approximately 4,000 cancellations, disrupting travel plans for over 1.5 million passengers across major US airports.
Although the ground stop has been lifted, airlines continue to face the challenge of rescheduling stranded passengers, clearing accumulated delays and restoring regular flight operations.
