A failure in a system that allows communications between the Federal Aviation Administration, air traffic controllers, and pilots was responsible for the country’s most disastrous nationwide ground stop in air traffic since September 11. The ground stop lasted five hours.
The system, the FAA Telecommunications Infrastructure or FTI network, is the private communications backbone for the air traffic control system. The FTI is in the midst of a major, multi-year modernization project, which involves replacing a decades-old network of copper wire with high-speed fiber-optic cables. The FAA has said the update will reduce outages and outage-related delays, and make the system safer. It will also be equipped to more easily handle newer aircraft, including drones, electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft (eVTOLs), and other “air taxis.”
