The FAA has stopped all departing flights at every airport in the United States. The agency ordered a rare nationwide ground stop Friday afternoon after what it called “communication issues impacting multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers,” CNBC reported. Flights already in the air are still flying. Departures are on hold “until further notice,” and international flights headed to the U.S. are being handled case by case.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the problem hit “all Air Route Traffic Control Centers.” “FAA technicians are investigating the issue,” he posted. “We will provide immediate updates as we have them.” As of about 5 p.m. Eastern, there was no official word on when flights would resume.
Track it live: the FAA’s official airport status map shows ground stops and delays at every major airport. FlightAware’s MiseryMap shows delays and cancellations by hub in real time, and its cancellations tracker shows today’s totals by airline and airport. Check your airline’s app before you leave for the airport.
What caused the FAA nationwide ground stop?
The FAA hasn’t said exactly. It points to a communication problem at the Air Route Traffic Control Centers, the 22 big facilities that guide planes flying above 18,000 feet between airports. An internal Alaska Airlines message seen by CNBC described “communications and radar issues.” The FAA ordered the stop “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety,” ABC News reported.
Officials haven’t said whether it’s connected to anything else. That includes Microsoft’s outage, which knocked out Outlook for more than a day. There’s been no report of a cyberattack. Earlier Friday afternoon, the FAA had also stopped flights at Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports over an equipment outage.
How rare is a nationwide ground stop?
Very. This is only the second time since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks that the FAA has stopped departures nationwide. The last one was in January 2023, when the system that sends pilots their safety notices went down. That stop lasted less than two hours, but delays rippled through the whole day, with thousands of flights delayed.
What should you do if your flight is affected?
- Don’t go to the airport until your airline’s app says your flight is still on. Gates will be jammed once departures restart.
- If your flight is canceled and you don’t want to be rebooked, federal rules say you’re owed a refund to your original payment method, not just a voucher.
- A ground stop is usually treated as outside the airline’s control, so meal and hotel vouchers aren’t guaranteed. Ask anyway, and keep receipts.
- Rebook in the app or online. It’s faster than the line at the counter.
- Expect delays to last well into Saturday morning as planes and crews end up in the wrong cities.
The BeezLoop Take
One communications failure stopping every departure in the country is exactly the kind of weakness air traffic control experts have been warning about for years. The FAA runs much of the system on aging equipment, and Friday shows what happens when part of it fails.
Stopping flights was the right call for safety. But travelers deserve a straight answer, fast, about what broke and whether it could happen again during Thanksgiving week.
The open question: was this a one-off equipment failure, or a sign that the system can’t handle the busiest travel weeks of the year?
Sources: CNBC · ABC News · ABC7 live updates · FAA National Airspace System Status · 6abc Philadelphia (video)
