Follow-Up: Canada Offered the FAA Full Assistance During the Nationwide Ground Stop, Including Taking U.S.-Bound Flights; Newsom Offers Thanks

Canadian Transport Minister Steven MacKinnon said on the evening of November 13 that, while the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had ordered a nationwide ground stop over an air traffic communications failure, Canada had offered the FAA its full assistance, including accommodating U.S.-bound aircraft as required. "Canada has offered its full assistance to the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) as it manages the situation, including accommodation of US-bound aircraft as required," he said in a public statement. "We remain ready to provide support to our American colleagues as the situation evolves." According to The Canadian Press, MacKinnon said at the time that the United States had not yet taken Canada up on the offer.

NAV Canada, the country's air navigation service provider, said its systems operated normally throughout the ground stop, that it stood ready to support any diverted aircraft, and that it put traffic management measures in place for a time at four major airports, Toronto Pearson, Montreal-Trudeau, Calgary and Vancouver; the measures were removed after the ground stop was lifted. Toronto Pearson International Airport said flights between Pearson and the United States were affected by the stop. Earlier that afternoon, MacKinnon said Ottawa was monitoring the situation closely and remained in contact with NAV Canada, that Canadian systems were operating normally, but that travel to the United States could be disrupted.

California Governor Gavin Newsom publicly thanked Canada in a post on X. "Thank you, Canada. Neighbors help neighbors. That's what friendship and leadership look like. Washington may have temporarily forgotten this, but the American people never will. We are grateful," he wrote. The Canadian Press noted that Canada's offer recalled the town of Gander in Newfoundland and Labrador, which welcomed dozens of diverted flights after the September 11, 2001 attacks forced the closure of U.S. airspace.

The nationwide ground stop began on the afternoon of November 13, when the FAA said a communications problem affecting several air route traffic control centers had prompted it to halt departures nationwide out of an abundance of caution; the stop was lifted that evening. More than 2,500 flights were still cancelled across the United States on November 14 as airlines worked to restore Saturday schedules. Canada's offer of assistance was never actually taken up, and cross-border flights gradually resumed after the stop was lifted.

(Source: Transport Canada)

Source: Transport Canada

Published by GSM · USA (original Chinese edition)

Photo: 图：加拿大多伦多 Pearson 国际机场1号航站楼出发层（资料图）。Raysonho 摄，CC0 授权，经 Wikimedia Commons。 / Photo: The departures curb at Terminal 1 of Toronto Pearson International Airport in Canada (file photo). Photo by Raysonho, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons.

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