UPS, FedEx's Cargo Planes To Be Grounded Over Christmas--Leaked Memo

[BumRushDaShow]

Source: Newsweek

Published Nov 27, 2025 at 09:34 AM EST updated Nov 27, 2025 at 01:13 PM EST


UPS’ fleet of MD-11 cargo aircraft will remain grounded for months, not weeks, according to an internal statement issued by UPS Airlines President Bill Moore and obtained by Newsweek and Clifford Law Offices.

The memo, circulated to employees following the fatal November 4 crash of Flight 2976 in Louisville, signals a prolonged operational disruption extending through the holiday shipping season. Newsweek contacted UPS, FedEx and the Federal Aviation Administration via email on Thursday.

Why It Matters

The leaked internal memo from UPS Airlines President Bill Moore reveals that the company’s entire MD-11 cargo fleet will remain grounded for “several months instead of weeks” after the fatal November 4 Louisville crash, a significantly longer disruption than previously signaled.

Boeing has informed UPS that inspections and structural repairs are more extensive than initially expected, prompting what amounts to a fleet-wide teardown of aging aircraft components.


Read more: https://www.newsweek.com/ups-fedex-cargo-planes-grounded-over-christmas-2025-leaked-memo-11120771

[mahina]

1. Wow.

Fair, completely, and at least out of respect for the people whose lives were lost

Still, it’s quite a blow to the USPS privatization endeavor/grift!

[quaint]

13. I thought the favored shipper was FedEx.

[Bayard]

2. Not much else they can do

I wonder if that means they'll be hiring a lot more truck drivers. Guess I better get my gifts mailed early.

[paleotn]

4. Absolutely

Trucking companies will probably line up to pick up the slack but that will take time. UPS and Fedex are leaned out to squeeze every dollar out of every mile flown or driven. Keeps costs down but it's also fragile. Having to recreate many of the air legs on the ground will take time and coordination. They may never have gamed out this contingency as suits probably thought this could never happen. If they did, they'll have to blow the dust off those contingency plans.

Either way, it will take time to get up and running. A lot of long hours for UPS and Fedex people. Even then, it's liable to be a mess at first, which just happens to be the heaviest shipping season of the year. Couldn't happen at a worse time, but these things seem to always happen at the worst time.

[BidenRocks]

3. Call Enterprise!

I need 10 wide body freighters for a few months.

They wouldn't get the UPS paint though.

[littlemissmartypants]

5. Frightening. Someone has dodged a big problem and continues to see the need to avoid more. ...

That speaks volumes.

[Warpy]

6. Those black boxes from the Louisville crash

must have shown a truly horrendous cascade of failures

[Bengus81]

11. My guess is the exact same failure as in the Chicago crash in 1979. The engine pylon

was ripped apart.

[Warpy]

14. They have to figure out why

Engines undergoing failure are designed to safely shear off the wing. That plane should have been able to land safely on its remaining engines. Something mangled the contols on that wing, either the engine bounced up off the tarmac and took part of the wing with it (unlikely) or some sort of shoddy maintenance was at work.

Your guess is a good one, the question is why.

[RecoveringJournalist]

7. Not Surprised

The only thing that surprises me here is that they are not rushing them back into service to meet the demand. That's a pleasant surprise.

Corporations forsaking safety in order to squeeze every penny out of a company is no surprise at all. It's actually the norm.

The American business model MUST change - by force if necessary.

[beyondtimes]

8. They are not

Being rushed back into service because the faa has issued an emergency grounding of the MD11 fleet.

[OldBaldy1701E]

9. Well, it is more that the American societal model must change.

That is what has been corrupted to believe that Big Business is our priesthood and should be allowed to do whatever it wants.

Business is a part of our society. It should never be allowed to be more than that.

Unfortunately...

[Bengus81]

12. Pilots would refuse to fly them

[OldBaldy1701E]

10. "Boeing has informed UPS that inspections and structural repairs are more extensive than initially expected,..."

In other words, you were skimping on your equipment so that you could pad your paycheck and now that you can't hide that fact anymore, you are being forced to actually do something about your equipment. Typical corporate scenario.

But, I bet that Bill and his fellow corporate leaders won't be surrendering a cent to correct their own actions and inactions. I would be willing to bet the farm on it. They won't be taking any pay cuts and they won't be selling anything off to pay for their hubris. The rank and file? That is another story.

Because the rich don't get punished. They just get rich. They get to do whatever they wish because we are too programmed to believe that they are the anointed ones.

I suppose one day that we will figure it out. That supposition is growing less and less every day, though.

[FakeNoose]

15. There's also the issue of liability

If their insurance carriers are pulling coverage on the planes, it means the planes stay on the ground. Maybe UPS doesn't care about pilot safety (even though the pilots care), but the company must maintain their insurance coverage for every flight. Otherwise they could be out of business with one bad accident.