North Korea’s missile tests had an impact as far as the United States. The authorities on the west coast imposed a flight freeze for 15 minutes.
The self-proclaimed nuclear power North Korea caused further concern in the rest of the world earlier this week – the regime carried out a test with a hypersonic missile. In theory, these might also transport nuclear weapons. According to South Korea, she crashed into the Sea of Japan. But the test had an impact as far as the USA.
As various US media report, the FAA imposed a so-called ground stop for airports on the west coast and in Hawaii for around 15 minutes. According to the broadcaster CBS, airports from Seattle to San Diego and from Las Vegas to Honolulu were affected.
Confusion among staff
The staff were confused by the measure. “Is it a safety issue or do we know something?” Asked a pilot in San Diego, according to an air traffic control recording quoted by CBS. “To be honest, I did not receive any information at the time,” replied an air traffic controller.
The FAA confirmed to the Politico portal that the ground stop was a “purely precautionary measure”. The North American Aerospace Defense Command, which oversees the airspace over the United States and Canada, said it had not issued a warning to the FAA to order the ground freeze.
“Hyper-careful”
Politico sources said the FAA made the decision prior to assessing the threat and was “hyper-cautious”. It is better to be too careful if that means that the airspace is safe at all times, the portal quotes Transport Minister Pete Buttigieg.
