A nationwide FAA ground stop tied to a communication issue led to cancellations and delays for U.S.-bound flights at Vancouver International Airport on Nov. 13.
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A nationwide FAA ground stop for U.S. flights was issued just after 2 p.m. on Friday, Nov. 13 “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety,” with “inbound flights” to be managed “on a case-by-case basis.” The advisory said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy linked the disruption to a communication issue affecting air traffic control centres, with FAA technicians investigating.
The update also noted that the FAA had lifted an earlier national ground stop, but the Nov. 13 advisory resulted in widespread U.S.-bound flight disruption again.
At Vancouver International Airport (YVR), FlightAware flight data shows 13 flights cancelled over the past 24 hours, including multiple U.S.-bound departures with cancellations listed on YVR’s arrivals page for destinations including Los Angeles, Palm Springs, San Francisco, Portland, Sacramento and Seattle.
The same YVR arrivals check showed delays affecting U.S.-bound flights, with 37 flights delayed. For arrivals, more than 16 flights were delayed, including U.S. flights, and a few California flights were cancelled.
YVR spokesperson Alicia Doyle said the airport is aware of the nationwide U.S. technology issue and that it has caused a ground stop for all U.S. flights. “As a result, YVR is seeing delays for U.S. bound departures as well as some international flights that would fly over the U.S. Domestic flights within Canada are not impacted,” she explained.
Doyle added that travellers should check their flight status with their airline or at yvr.ca before coming to the airport, and that YVR will share further updates as they receive them.
Air Canada said it is offering free changes on affected flights to accommodate passengers during the disruption.
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