View of Space X’s Starship on the launch pad for its seventh test flight, in Boca Chica, Texas, U.S.
Maxar Technologies | Via Reuters
Several commercial flights were diverted or delayed after SpaceX’s Starship rocket broke up during its seventh flight test on Thursday.
Dozens of flights were affected, according to flight-tracker Flightradar24.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it “briefly slowed and diverted aircraft around the area where space vehicle debris was falling” after it issued a warning to pilots about “dangerous area for falling debris of rocket Starship.”
The rocket took off from SpaceX’s facility near Brownsville, Texas, shortly after 5:30 p.m. ET, and was headed east from Texas. It broke up and SpaceX said on X that it will “continue to review data from today’s flight test to better understand root cause.”
The FAA has not received any reports of injuries or property damage from Starship’s debris, a spokesperson for the agency told CNBC.
A JetBlue Airways flight from Fort Lauderdale, Florida, to San Juan, Puerto Rico diverted back to Fort Lauderdale, almost two hours into the flight, according to FlightAware, another flight-tracking site. JetBlue didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
Other flights near Turks and Caicos, including a FedEx cargo jet appeared to turn around, according to flight-tracking data, while a Spirit Airlines plane also changed course.
The airlines and SpaceX didn’t immediately respond for request for comment on the disruptions.
An American Airlines spokeswoman said the carrier had fewer than 10 diversions because of the issue.
Airlines and other commercial flights, as well as private planes, compete for airspace, especially in the congested area around Florida.
— CNBC’s Michael Sheetz contributed to this report.
