Amtrak’s website, mobile app, and phone lines buckled Friday evening as stranded air travelers turned to rail travel during a nationwide Federal Aviation Administration ground stop. The disruption quickly spread beyond airports. As of 6:40 p.m. ET, more than 10,000 flights were delayed and more than 3,000 were canceled across the country, according to FlightAware data reported by USA Today.
With flights grounded, many travelers tried to book trains instead. Amtrak posted on X around 5:30 p.m. ET that it was experiencing higher than normal call volume due to the ongoing issue.
“We apologize for the error messages on both our website and app, as well as the difficulty reaching a representative. We’re currently experiencing higher-than-normal call volumes due to ongoing airline issues. Furthermore, we recommend trying again later. Thank you,” Amtrak wrote.
Travelers reported seeing messages including “Our system is temporarily busy. Try again shortly” and “We are temporarily unable to process your request. Please try again.” Many said they could not reach a representative at all.
Trains continued to operate, according to reports, but booking a seat became difficult at the moment many travelers needed an alternative most. Amtrak did not say when its booking systems would return to normal, and it advised customers to try again later.
The FAA issued the ground stop just before 4 p.m. ET on Friday, November 13, citing extraordinary circumstances and safety concerns. The order, effective at 3:54 p.m. ET, told all departing aircraft to remain on the ground until further notice. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the stop followed a communication issue affecting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin described the problem as a telecommunication outage throughout the FAA. He said there was no prior indication as of yet that it was a nefarious attack, and that all flights are accounted for. Flights already in the air were not ordered to land immediately, and inbound international flights were to be handled on a case by case basis.
The FAA has not provided an estimate for when normal flight operations will return. The ground stop is the third nationwide ground stop in American aviation history, after the September 11, 2001 attacks and a January 2023 system outage.
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[ H/T Trending Politics ]
