FIBER IN THE NEWSFiber cable cut causes Northwest Airlines delays

    March 22, 2000
    According to United Press International, Northwest Airlines flights around the world were delayed Tuesday after a construction crew severed communications cables near the carrier's headquarters in Eagan, MN, outside Minneapolis.

    According to United Press International, Northwest Airlines flights around the world were delayed Tuesday after a construction crew severed communications cables near the carrier's headquarters in Eagan, MN, outside Minneapolis.

    The outage knocked out the airline's communications system for more than three hours, forcing Northwest to cancel approximately 120 of its 1,700 daily flights. The airline said in a statement that the problem began about 2:05 p.m. CST when contractors for McLeod USA, a Cedar Rapids, IA-based telecommunications company, cut through two 288-fiber U S West cables in Eagan that link Northwest's mainframe computers to airport facilities globally.

    Northwest said that U S West's backup system also failed. Data systems serving Northwest's main operations center were restored at 5:25 p.m., but the airline said it anticipated some delays for the rest of its Tuesday flights. Normal operations were expected to resume Wednesday.

    The cut cable also shut down Northwest's Internet site, www.nwa.com.

    Continue Reading

    Sponsored Recommendations

    May 6, 2025
    In this webinar learn from industry experts how no-code/low-code tools automate any workflow without costly software projects with practical examples of how automation can deliver...
    April 25, 2025
    This webinar will examine trends and advancements at the system and optical module levels for data center interconnect. Register today to join the discussion.
    April 10, 2025
    The value of pluggable optics in open-line systems is also becoming more apparent. This webinar describes this trend and explores how such modules can best be employed. Register...
    March 10, 2025
    The continual movement around artificial intelligence (AI) cluster environments is driving new sales of optical transceiver sales and the adoption of linear pluggable optics (...