U.S. FAA revokes access to system for contractors involved in computer outage

FILE PHOTO: assengers wait for the resumption of flights at O'Hare International Airport after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had ordered airlines to pause all domestic departures due to a system outage, in Chicago, Illinois, U.S., January 11, 2023. REUTERS/Jim Vondruska

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) told lawmakers on Wednesday that it had revoked access to a pilot messaging database to contractor personnel involved in a file deletion that led to the first nationwide groundstop since 2001.

Last week, the FAA said it had found contract personnel "unintentionally deleted files" disrupting the Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) messaging system that led to a Jan. 11 groundstop disrupting more than 11,000 flights.