North Korean leader Kim Jong Un pictured during his last public appearance on April 11, 2020, attending a politburo meeting of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea. Associated Press |
Flights Briefly Grounded at Sacramento, San Francisco and Other Western Airports on Monday
KCRA-TV
January 11, 2022
SACRAMENTO, California — Flights were briefly grounded at Sacramento International Airport, San Francisco International Airport and others in the western United States on Monday.
The ground stop happened around the same time that North Korea fired a ballistic missile into the sea, but it was unclear if the events were connected.
An on-duty manager at SFO told KCRA 3 an order from the Federal Aviation Administration came around 2:50 p.m. to halt all planes and lasted five minutes. The manager said the airport was told it was a nationwide issue, though the FAA later told NBC News it had "temporarily paused departures" at some airports on the West Coast as a precaution.
"Full operations resumed in less than 15 minutes," the FAA told NBC News.
A representative with Sacramento International Airport confirmed after 3:15 p.m. that flights were grounded for a period but had since returned to normal.