Frontier Airlines faced a temporary disruption in operations due to technical issues on Thursday evening, which led to a short-lived ground stop across all of the budget airline’s destinations throughout the United States.
The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) relayed this advisory, noting that Frontier, headquartered in Denver, initiated the ground stop at 22:33 GMT.
Fortunately, after a brief period, the restriction was lifted at 22:54 GMT.
In an official statement, Frontier Airlines confirmed the reactivation of its flight operations, explaining that their systems operations center encountered a fleeting internet outage.
This unexpected technical hiccup prompted the decision to implement the ground stop, but swift resolution allowed them to resume normal service promptly.
Denver-based Frontier Airlines told Newsweek in a statement: “Our Systems Operations Center experienced a short internet outage that caused us to initiate a brief ground stop, which has since been lifted.
The ground stop was in place for approximately 20 minutes.”
According to the National Business Aviation Association (NBAA), a ground stop occurs when air traffic control mandates that “aircraft meeting specific criteria remain on the ground at their origination airport.”
The NBAA website elaborates that such a ground stop may be specific to an airport, pertain to a geographical area, or be related to equipment issues.
Furthermore, ground stops are recognized as the most restrictive among the available traffic management tools.
The prompt response and focus on this temporary cessation of operations highlight the heightened concern regarding atypical activity within the aviation sector at this time.
