Hundreds of flights delayed at YVR after FAA grounds planes across the U.S.

Chaos and logjams have been created at airports across North America after the Federal Aviation Administration issued a rare ground stop order — halting all takeoffs in the U.S. — due to communication problems with air traffic control systems.

There are currently more than 127 delayed flights at Vancouver International Airport, according to the flight-tracking website, Flight Radar 24, plus 49 cancellations, as of 5:30 p.m. PT.

“FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a social media post.

The FAA said that all flights countrywide are grounded “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety,” and that international flights will be managed on a case-by-case basis.

YVR released a statement saying it is “aware of a nationwide technology issue in the United States that has caused a ground stop for all flights to the United States at this time. As a result, YVR is facing delays for U.S.-bound departures as well as some non-U.S. international flights that would fly over the U.S.

“Domestic flights within Canada are not impacted. We recommend travellers check their flight status with their airline or yvr.ca before coming to the airport.”

Flights between Toronto Pearson International Airport and the U.S. are affected by the FAA’s countrywide ground stop. There are currently no scheduled U.S.-bound departures or arrivals from that airport.

Air Canada warned its passengers of the service interruption, adding that flights to and from the Caribbean and South America may also be impacted, as well as any U.S.-related flights.

Air Canada is aware of the countrywide ground stop issued by the Federal Aviation Administration. The ground stop is impacting flights to and from the United States. Flights to and from the Caribbean and South America may also be impacted.

The communication disruption comes just days after the FAA expanded its use of artificial intelligence with the addition of a cloud-based management system.

A report from Bloomberg said the FAA had been dealing with outages across its network in recent years because of outdated equipment, with the Department of Transportation spending US$12.5 billion from Congress to address the issues. Duffy asked for an additional $30 billion for that work earlier this week.

CNN reported that the issue started in a network router at Chicago Midway International Airport before cascading countrywide.