A major air traffic control system failure has occurred in the United States, causing authorities to suspend flights nationwide for nearly five hours due to technical issues. Thousands of passengers were left stranded at airports, and airlines faced widespread delays and cancellations, according to Reuters.

The problems began on the evening of November 13, when air traffic control center equipment became overloaded with data and started transmitting conflicting information. For safety reasons, a temporary suspension of departures was ordered.

The restrictions lasted for approximately 4 hours and 40 minutes, during which time over 6,600 flights were canceled and another 8,600 were delayed, according to data from Flightradar24.

US airspace is now open again, but a return to normal schedules may take several days. Weekend flights have already been affected by the cancellations.

Authorities have stated that there are no signs of a cyberattack, and the issues are believed to be related to the technical condition of the air traffic control system and challenges in implementing new equipment.

Reuters reports that this is the longest nationwide flight suspension in the United States since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. """