The Federal Aviation Administration lifted its nationwide ground stop on departing planes in the U.S. on Wednesday morning after an abrupt technology outage on the system that delayed thousands of flights. Still, airlines warned that the issue will persist and disrupt travel throughout the day.
Earlier, the FAA said that domestic departures would be paused until at least 9 a.m. ET while the agency worked to restore the Notice to Air Missions System, the channel that is responsible for sending messages to notify all pilots, such as about closed runways, hazards and other information.
All flights that were in the air at the time this outage occurred were safe to land, the agency said.
More than 6,100 U.S. flights were delayed as of 10:45 a.m. ET WEdnesday, according to data from flight-tracker FlightAware. The agency noted that residual delays could last hours from the backup once the ground stop is lifted.
