Air New Zealand has delayed flights out of the US after planes were grounded because of communications problems at regional air traffic control centres.
A Federal Avation Administration notice said the ground stop was being imposed "due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety".
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said there is a communications issue affecting the 22 regional air traffic control centres that direct planes en route between airports nationwide. He said FAA technicians are investigating. This is the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023, when a key FAA computer system malfunctioned. Before that the last time had been after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
Flights from the US to New Zealand have been delayed, according to a statement from Air New Zealand.
"We've proactively delayed these services by two hours as a precaution while we assess the situation.
"We don't have any flights scheduled to depart New Zealand for the USA until this evening, and there is currently no impact to these services."
The airline said affected customers would be contacted directly and urged travellers to monitor the Air NZ app and website for updates.
US Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said there was no indication yet that "this was a nefarious attack against us. It's just a telecommunications outage".
"Everybody's safe. There's no reason to be concerned about your loved ones if they're flying," Mullin said.
There is no timeline for restarting flights. Mullin said investigators will look at whether there is any link to the FAA's nationwide rollout of a new artificial intelligence system to help identify problems and reroute planes. But that system operates out of one location near Washington, DC, and just sends recommendations to the air traffic control centres.
The government has been working to overhaul the outdated technology that air traffic controllers rely on since Congress approved US$12.5 billion (NZ$22.6 billion) for the project last year. Miles of old copper wires have been replaced with fibre optic lines and old radio systems are gradually being replaced at airports across the country.
But much work remains. Duffy has said that another US$30 billion (NZ$54 billion) will be needed to complete the work, and the White House has begun lobbying Congress to approve it.
The problem appeared similar to a regional air traffic control communication outage in September that snarled hundreds of flights across the Northeast, aviation safety expert Steve Arroyo said, except this time on a nationwide scale. It may be linked to the outdated technology used by air traffic controllers.
"If you don’t have that ability, whether it’s because the old wires that they have are just run down or for whatever reason, you’ve got to stop aeroplanes on the ground," said Arroyo, who is a former United Airlines pilot.
"And not put them in the air where you’re going to risk not being able to communicate with them."
Saturday's ground stop was different from the one after September 11 because planes were not being told to land immediately, and pilots likely were able to communicate with ground controllers at airports, Arroyo said.
Auckland businesswoman stuck in Houston
Juanita Neville from Te Rito said she was travelling to a girl's weekend in Nashville, but was now stuck in Houston airport.
She said airport staff had been "pretty good" at keeping passengers informed, providing updates about every 20 to 30 minutes.
"Everyone around me is pretty glued to their phones and looking at all the news outlets to see if they can get any updates," she said.
Neville said there had also been an announcement asking ground crew to report to a meeting point.
- Additional reporting by 1News
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