Aer Lingus says flights currently en route to US ‘will be permitted to land’

AER LINGUS FLIGHTS that are currently en route to the US “will be permitted to land” while flights due to depart are currently on hold, according to the airline.

In a statement, Aer Lingus said it is aware that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has implemented a nationwide ground stop to flight departures in the United States.

A spokesperson said Aer Lingus flights en route to the US will be permitted to land and Aer Lingus flights due to depart the US are currently on hold.

“We are monitoring the situation closely and will communicate directly with customers who are impacted by the disruption,” added the spokesperson.

Customers have been advised to the Aer Lingus website for the latest updates.

Meanwhile, Dublin Airport has said “it remains unclear how long this suspension will remain in effect”.

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A spokesperson added there is a “possibility that it could impact both arriving and departing flights between Dublin Airport and the United States on Saturday morning”.

Dublin Airport advised passengers to contact their airline directly for the latest updates on the status of their flight.

In the latest FAA update as of 10pm Irish time, a spokesperson said “every flight has been accounted for and international flights will be handled on a case by case basis”.

A “communication issue” has impacted all Air Route Traffic Control Centres in the US and as a result, all flights are grounded.

Speaking from the White House, Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said “this isn’t another 9/11″ and that there is no need to be “afraid or scared for your loved ones”.

Mullin also described the situation as “unprecedented” and a “crisis” and said that the “systems are overwhelmed”.

He added that he could not yet say if the timeframe for the outage will be “days or weeks” and said that it will “take some time” to return to normal.

He also acknowledged that “this will take some time” to resolve and that US president Donald Trump is being briefed on the issue.