FAA Declares Nationwide Ground Stop for Flights as Air Traffic System Faces Outage
Nationwide stop begins
An official advisory directed that departing flights stay on the ground until further notice. Landings for inbound international flights would be managed case by case. The agency said technicians were investigating and that it would provide updates as they became available.
Thousands of flights affected
The pause began shortly before 4 p.m. Eastern Time. Flight-tracking app Flighty counted more than 30,000 flights scheduled for the rest of the day after the stop took effect.
Flightradar24 reported that more than 1,000 aircraft were already airborne and heading to U.S. airports. A lengthy disruption could push flight crews to their legal working limits, potentially turning delays into cancellations and affecting travel through the weekend.
Passengers wait for updates
At Denver airport, passengers left their flights carrying their suitcases. A handful started arranging travel for the next day, while most waited for information. A Southwest flight attendant told passengers the airline expected an update in 30 minutes.
Previous nationwide shutdown
The FAA last halted flights across the country in 2023. Contractors had unintentionally deleted files tied to an alert system used to communicate with pilots, delaying thousands of flights.
Key points
- The FAA ordered a nationwide ground stop on Friday afternoon as technicians investigated an apparent system outage.
- More than 30,000 flights were scheduled for the remainder of the day after the stop began shortly before 4 p.m. Eastern Time.
- More than 1,000 aircraft were already headed to U.S. airports, according to Flightradar24.
- A prolonged pause could cause cancellations if flight crews reach legal working limits.