FAA Ground Stop: What Is L3Harris Technologies, The Telecom Giant Linked To Thousands of Flight Cancellations Across US?

An information board displays flight statuses and cancellations at LaGuardia Airport.

A telecommunications network overseen by L3Harris Technologies appears to be at the centre of the communications outage that prompted the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to ground departing flights nationwide, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

The network handles radio frequencies used by air traffic controllers to communicate with pilots, people briefed on the matter told the newspaper. It was not immediately clear whether the disruption had also affected radar feeds, which controllers rely on to maintain safe distances between aircraft.

The FAA ordered a nationwide ground stop on Friday afternoon, citing extraordinary circumstances and safety concerns after communications were disrupted at air traffic control facilities. US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on X that a communications issue had affected multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centres, which manage high-altitude flights across large areas of the country.

"FAA technicians are investigating the issue," he said.

Aircraft already in the air were allowed to continue to their destinations, an FAA spokeswoman said. International flights arriving in the US were to be handled on a case-by-case basis.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was no indication that the…

Original source: https://www.timesnownews.com/latest-news