Why planes were grounded for the first time since 9/11

7 min read . Updated: 15 Feb 2023, 05:14 PM IST Andrew Tangel, The Wall Street Journal

A flight information board on January 11, when the FAA halted all departures for nearly two hour (Photo: AP) — A flight information board on January 11, when the FAA halted all departures for nearly two hour **(Photo: AP)**

January outage of US pilot-alert system halted all departures and shook aviation industry; ‘failing vintage hardware’

The Federal Aviation Administration halted flights across America in early January, paralyzing air traffic for nearly two hours. It was the first nationwide ground stop since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and shook an industry struggling to cope with a postpandemic surge in travel.

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