The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) halted departures of all flights across the United States on Wednesday, January 11, 2023, after the system that provided pilots with pre-flight safety notices went offline.In a statement, the administration ordered airlines to halt all departures until at least 9.00 am (ET) while they fix their system and validate the integrity of flight and safety information. The system in question is called NOTAM or Notice to Air Missions. Passengers were asked to check in with their airlines for further updates.The FAA halted departures of all flights across the United States on Wednesday.(Image via Twitter/@FAANews)The news of the information system failing for a few hours took the internet by storm, sparking hilarious reactions. One user @Janclewa asked on Twitter about the situation, inquiring if the country was at war.The tweet said:"Are we under attack again?"JanJan@Janclewa@FAANews Are we under attack again?213@FAANews Are we under attack again?FAA system failure sparks a Twitter stormThe Federal Aviation Administration or FAA hit a snag in its safety system early on Wednesday morning and had to order all airlines to halt departures until they were able to fix the situation. The outage caused severe delays in daily operations and all outbound domestic flights were also impacted.The situation took the internet by storm, sparking questions, reactions, and hilarious memes.Danny Armstrong@DArmstrong44The FAA when they had to cancel flights due to computer failure:34879The FAA when they had to cancel flights due to computer failure:https://t.co/a0oEoJW8AL༺𝓭𝓸𝔁𝓲𝓮༻@dox_gayFAA engineers in the server room trying to find the turn off turn back on button82FAA engineers in the server room trying to find the turn off turn back on button https://t.co/k3S8Kw7gVGDKT@darleneturner53The FAA tech department right now894169The FAA tech department right now https://t.co/VkAAiGdY1MBess Auer@Bess_Auer@FAANews Unplug, blow on the end of the cord, and then plug back in. Works like a charm every time.41719@FAANews Unplug, blow on the end of the cord, and then plug back in. Works like a charm every time. https://t.co/ndZGFW2gfEjmc787@jmc_787@FAANews Everything looks fine on this end1731@FAANews Everything looks fine on this end https://t.co/QB0sArZVInMatt Banes@HelloMattBanes@FAANews 1st impression: “Not to jump on the conspiracy bandwagon, but this sounds fishy.”2nd thought: “Hold on. I’ve worked for the government. It is ENTIRELY plausible that old software/hardware could take everything down like this.” 🤣702@FAANews 1st impression: “Not to jump on the conspiracy bandwagon, but this sounds fishy.”2nd thought: “Hold on. I’ve worked for the government. It is ENTIRELY plausible that old software/hardware could take everything down like this.” 🤣White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre confirms "there is no evidence of a cyberattack"The FAA said that they were working on rectifying the situation by fixing the NOTAM. As per the FAA website, a NOTAM is a notice containing information essential to personnel concerned with flight operations, but not known far enough in advance to be publicized by other means.This information can be worth about 200 pages for long-haul international flights and may include items such as runway closures, bird hazard warnings, and construction obstacles.All flights within the US were grounded (Image via Getty/Unknown)Nearly 2,512 flights to, from, and within the United States have been delayed as of 7.45 am ET, but only 126 flights have been canceled so far. As for inbound flights, none were canceled, but delays were expected upon landing.Airlines for America, an industry group that represents a majority of American carriers such as Southwest, American Airlines, Delta, United, and others said:"This technology issue is causing significant operational delays across the National Airspace System.”The debacle affected stocks and shares as well, with shares of U.S. carriers falling in Wednesday's premarket trading. Southwest Airlines was down 2.4%, while Delta Air Lines Inc (DAL.N), United Airlines (UAL.O), and American Airlines (AAL.O) were down about 1%.Notices from the FAA come via their Twitter page @FAANews.The FAA ✈️@FAANewsThe FAA is working to restore its Notice to Air Missions System. We are performing final validation checks and reloading the system now. Operations across the National Airspace System are affected. We will provide frequent updates as we make progress.49723207The FAA is working to restore its Notice to Air Missions System. We are performing final validation checks and reloading the system now. Operations across the National Airspace System are affected. We will provide frequent updates as we make progress.President Joe Biden has ordered a Department of Transportation (DOT) investigation into the situation, according to White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre. She released a tweet informing that there is no evidence of an external attack. She said:"There is no evidence of a cyberattack at this point, but the President directed DOT to conduct a full investigation into the causes."The news comes just weeks after bad weather during the busy holiday season resulted in several flight cancelations and delays across the country. Nearly 15,000 Southwest flights were canceled due to their system collapsing from all the schedule changes.