The Federal Aviation Administration halted departures nationwide Friday afternoon, citing safety concerns and “extraordinary circumstances,” but offering no explanation for the cause of the disruption.
“There has been a temporary telecommunications outage,” the FAA posted on X Friday afternoon. “Out of an abundance of caution all flights have been halted. Every flight has been accounted for and international flights will be handled on a case by case basis.”
Sam Weyant had just spent his 39th year whitetail deer hunting near Wheatland and was heading back to Claysburg, Pennsylvania, about 80 miles east of Pittsburgh.
He had a successful hunt Thursday and was flying back home out of the Cheyenne Regional Airport.
“They shut all the planes down,” he told Cowboy State Daily.
He and his daughter Robin hadn’t boarded yet. They were waiting when United Airlines made the announcement.
Weyant said the airline told him it was a software issue, but he noted an eerie coincidence.
“It’s Friday the 13th,” he said.
In the meantime, he’s stranded. But, not really.
He hunts with Lee Miller, an outfitter in Platte County.
“They’re like family,” he said.
'Software Is So Old'
Weyant said Miller and others were driving an hour to pick him and his daughter up and take them back to the ranch to stay another night, assuming the planes were flying by then.
Weyant wasn’t overly surprised.
“The software is so old,” he said. “It’s awful and it costs so much money to fix it.”
Weyant said the money the country spends overseas should be spent domestically to fix the infrastructure.
“The country’s in hell of a shape,” he said shaking his head.
"Baffled"
Paul Lear, a truck driver for Stevens Transport based in Orlando, was smoking a cigarette outside the airport.
Lear had just dropped off his load and was set to fly back to Florida.
Now, he’s stuck.
He referenced Friday the 13th, too, and mentioned the Microsoft outage that plagued the country Thursday.
“My company couldn’t send emails,” he said.
He was just waiting to see where his company is going to put him up for the night. He didn’t want to stay at the airport, mentioning the prices.
“It’s four dollars for a small bag of damn Doritos,” he said. “I mean, come on. This is crazy.”
When United made the announcement, Lear said everybody was “baffled.”
“No one knew what to think about it,” he said. “We’re just thinking that plane ain’t coming for us today,” he said.
‘On Edge’
Lisa Stott, office manager Yellowstone Regional Airport in Cody, told Cowboy State Daily that the airport’s last flight was just about to take off when the FAA notice came in.
“They just deboarded the whole plane,” Stott said. “They were just about to pull away from the gate and when we got the news.”
Stott said that the FAA communicates directly with the airlines, and the airport itself finds out from there.
“I saw them deboarding, so that’s how I found out about it,” Stott said. “Then I turned on the news.”
As of Friday afternoon, passengers were waiting in a holding room, Stott said. They could not leave, because this was the last flight of the day and the Transportation Security Administration personnel who handle pre-flight security had already gone home.
Anyone who walked out would not be able to get back through security to reboard.
With the FAA offering no explanation, Stott said the mood in the room is different from that of an ordinary travel delay.
“I think they’re more on edge than frustrated,” Stott said of the passengers.
The reason for that, she said, is obvious.
“It just brings you back to 9/11,” Stott said. “You just get a little nervous.”
‘Extremely Atypical’
The last nationwide ground stop before Friday’s was in January 2023, when a damaged database file caused an outage in the FAA’s Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system. That stop delayed more than 9,000 flights and canceled more than 1,300.
Katie Reed, communications and air service manager at Casper/Natrona County International Airport, told Cowboy State Daily that Friday’s order feels different.
“They probably would have said if there was a NOTAM concern with this one,” Reed said. “So far, that’s not what we’re hearing.”
Reed said that the Casper/Natrona County International Airport hasn’t received much more information than what’s publicly available. But she said they’ve heard the issue could possibly be related to communication issues impacting traffic control.
“We’re kind of in the same boat as everyone else,” Reed said. “The FAA operates under their own supervision.”
Though she typically works from home on Fridays, Reed said she’s planning to go to the airport to support staff on the ground. She said she understands how important smooth travel is to passengers and she hopes for patience as everyone waits for more information.
“We’re all in this together,” Reed said. “This is extremely atypical and we’re all just trying to figure it out at the same time.”
Jeremy Barnum, chief communications officer at Jackson Hole Airport, told Cowboy State Daily that the airlines will make decisions about whether to delay flights or cancel altogether.
“Right now we’ve seen both,” Barnum said. “We’ve seen some flights delayed and some outright cancelled.”
‘Abundance of Safety’
Doug Bullock, director of aviation at the Cheyenne Regional Airport, told Cowboy State Daily that the Cheyenne Airport is calm since its last flight of the day had already taken off when the notice came in.
He said he was expecting an incoming flight at 10 p.m., but flights might still be grounded then.
“Steady she goes,” Bullock said. “We’ll see how long the outage lasts.”
Bullock said he understands that the notice seems alarming, but he doesn’t think there’s reason to panic yet.
“I’ve been in this industry for quite a while,” he said. “With technology and stuff, sometimes you have some delays. I’m curious to see what the cause is.”
If there’s any kind of safety concern, Bullock said that grounding all flights is the right move.
“I would say, from my perspective, this is an abundance of safety,” Bullock said. “Aviation safety is always the No. 1 priority. It’s best to just take a conservative standpoint and get the planes in a safe position and figure out what’s going on with the technology.”
Emma Jane Jackson can be reached at emma@cowboystatedaily.com.
