The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted the national suspension of departures to the United States on Friday, November 13th at American time. Aircraft are again allowed to depart after an air traffic control failure. This decision, reported by a news agency, does not mean that each flight has resumed or that schedules are restored.
For travellers, the issue is now moving towards the airlines: confirmed departure, possible cancellation and maintenance of connections. The removal of the national restriction is a separate step from the return to a normal program.
FAA lifts suspension, airlines must reinstate flights
The freeze was imposed on the afternoon of 13 November. The United States authorities had raised communications issues in the air traffic control network. The authorised resumption therefore represents a major change from the suspension announced a few hours earlier.
Prior to this lifting, Alaska Airlines had already warned that re-engagement would take time. In its statement issued on 13 November at 3 p.m. on the Pacific coast, 2300 UTC hours, the company explained that it had had to cancel some flights and steal others. It recommended that passengers check their flight before reaching the airport.
This press release, prior to the end of the blockage, allows to measure the difference between a departure authorization and the re-establishment of operations. It does not provide a general deadline for returning to normal. A passenger must therefore check his or her own itinerary, rather than deducting from the national clearance that his or her reservation can be made at the scheduled time.
Alaska and Hawaiian predict carry-over opportunities
The Travel Information page of Alaska and Hawaiian proposes a policy of modification or cancellation related to this incident. In the version viewed on the night of November 13-14, it covers tickets purchased by November 13. The initial travel dates concerned are 13 and 14 November 2026.
The proposed new travel period is November 13-16. The company states that the ticket must be changed or cancelled prior to the original departure. These conditions concern this particular policy: they cannot be automatically applied to a reservation with another company.
The same page invites regular monitoring of the flight status. The company’s notifications allow for last-minute changes, including delays, cancellations and door changes. For connecting passengers, the check shall cover each segment of the journey.
Exceptions already existed during blocking
The national restriction did not produce an identical interruption on all lines. At its 3 p.m. location, Alaska Airlines indicated that its flights inside Alaska and inter-island routes to Hawaii were not affected. The aircraft already in flight were continuing towards their destination, she said.
These exceptions explain why movements were allowed to continue during the general suspension. They alone did not prove that the restriction had been lifted for the whole country. Conversely, the national authorisation to resume departures does not constitute an individual confirmation for flights cancelled or modified during the breakdown.
The exact status of each departure therefore remains to be checked with the carrier. No single return-to-normal schedule for the entire US network is established in the information consulted.
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