Following September 11, 2001, and January 2023, the FAA has once again issued a nationwide ground stop. Due to a telecommunications outage, more than 3,300 flights have been canceled, while over 10,000 have been delayed.
Air traffic across the United States came to an almost complete halt on Friday afternoon after the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a nationwide order grounding all departing flights, citing “extraordinary circumstances and safety concerns.”
The order took effect at 3:54 p.m. Eastern Time (2:54 p.m. Chicago time) and remains in place “until further notice.” The cause was a communications outage that affected all air traffic control centers across the country.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced that FAA technicians are investigating the issue, while Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated that there are no indications of an attack and that the incident is related to a telecommunications outage.
According to The Wall Street Journal, the problem involves the telecommunications network used by air traffic controllers to communicate with pilots, which is maintained by L3Harris. The exact cause of the outage has not yet been determined.
The measure applies only to departing flights. Aircraft already in the air are continuing toward their destinations and landing, although some are circling while waiting for landing clearance. International flights arriving in the United States are being assessed on a case-by-case basis.
The FAA stated that all aircraft currently in the air have been accounted for and that a priority list will be used when air traffic operations resume.
According to FlightAware data, by Friday evening more than 10,200 flights had been delayed, while over 3,300 had been canceled in the United States alone, bringing the total number of cancellations to more than 4,000.
Nearly 500 aircraft had returned to their departure airports, while more than 100 had been diverted to other airports. Airlines have already begun canceling flights scheduled for Saturday as well, with more than 300 cancellations reported so far.
Just hours before the nationwide measure was announced, departures from both Chicago airports, O’Hare and Midway, had also been temporarily halted due to an equipment failure.
By Friday evening, some telecommunications systems had begun returning to service, prompting the FAA to authorize select international departures from the East and West Coasts, while domestic flights within Alaska and Hawaii continued operating.
Departures will resume gradually as air traffic control centers recover and return to normal operations.
This marks only the third time in history that the FAA has grounded all departing flights across the United States. The first nationwide ground stop occurred following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, and the second took place in January 2023, when the NOTAM (Notice to Air Missions) system, which provides critical safety information to pilots, experienced an outage.
The official order states that the measure remains in effect until 11:30 p.m. Eastern Time, with the possibility of an extension. However, the agency has not announced when air traffic operations will fully return to normal. The disruptions are expected to continue into Saturday.
Passengers are advised to check their flight status before heading to the airport.