Photo: Tony Webster / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0)
The Federal Aviation Administration lifted a nationwide ground stop on Friday evening after a communications failure halted every departing flight in the United States for more than four hours, stranding travelers at airports across the country and disrupting thousands of flights.
The stop was lifted at around 8:15 p.m. Eastern time, after the FAA ordered all departures held just before 4 p.m. “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.” The disruption was the first nationwide ground stop since a computer system failure halted flights in January 2023, according to the Associated Press.
Every Departure Grounded
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the order followed “a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers,” the facilities that guide aircraft at cruising altitude between airports. The FAA later described the problem as “a temporary telecommunications outage.” Duffy posted on social media at 4:16 p.m.: “The @FAAnews issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue.”
Flights already in the air were allowed to land, while aircraft on the ground could not take off. Inbound international flights were handled on a case-by-case basis, and some departures were released from the early evening as air traffic control facilities recovered. The problem affected the country’s 22 regional air traffic control centers, according to the Associated Press.
More Than 1,000 Flights Cancelled
The shutdown caused chaos at airports nationwide. Airlines cancelled more than 1,000 flights and delayed nearly 10,000, Reuters reported. By 6:04 p.m. Eastern, the flight tracker FlightAware counted 1,913 cancellations and 10,494 delays involving US flights, with both numbers expected to keep climbing through the evening. Even after the stop was lifted, delays and cancellations were expected to ripple into Saturday as airlines moved planes and crews back into position.
The National Weather Service also said on Friday that it was experiencing nationwide internet and communications issues, though it was not immediately clear whether the two outages were connected.
No Sign of a Cyberattack, Officials Say
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was no indication that the grounding was caused by a cyberattack or any “nefarious attack,” calling it a telecommunications outage and telling the public there should be no fear. Investigators have not yet identified the cause of the communications failure, and the FAA said its technicians were still looking into what went wrong.
The disruption is the latest sign of strain on the US air traffic control system, which has been beset by equipment failures, communications problems and shortages of controllers while the FAA tries to replace aging infrastructure.
Trump’s Hollywood Post Draws Criticism
As the grounding unfolded, Trump posted on Truth Social about legislation to bring film and television production back to the United States, working with Senators Tim Scott and Adam Schiff on the Motion Picture, Television, and Entertainment Revitalization Act. Critics, including CNN’s Kaitlan Collins, pointed out the timing, saying the president had not addressed the aviation emergency while travelers were stranded.
The FAA said normal operations would resume gradually and that it would provide further updates as its investigation continued.
Sources: Reuters via NorthJersey.com; Associated Press via Main Street Daily News