Flights halted as faa issues nationwide ground stop, citing communication problems affecting multiple traffic control facilities

Departures halted nationwide

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered all flights scheduled to depart U.S. airports to remain on the ground. An advisory shared by Flightradar24 said inbound international flights would be handled individually.

Sean Duffy said the issue affected all Air Route Traffic Control Centers and that technicians were investigating. The FAA had not posted an announcement on its website or social media at the time of the report.

News9 Oklahoma cited aviation monitoring account OSINTdefender in reporting that communication frequency issues affected the National Airspace System. The planned end time was 11 p.m. ET, subject to change.

Airport status reports vary

A check of the National Airspace System Status website showed major airports marked with notices including “airport closure,” “ground stop,” “ground delay” and “departure delay.” The previous FAA ground stop occurred in January 2023, when domestic departures were paused for less than two hours after a pilot notification system failed. The article also identifies September 11, 2001, as the date of the earlier stop.

Passengers caught mid-journey

Andy Kalmowitz, a Jalopnik reporter, was preparing to depart Chicago O’Hare International Airport on a connecting flight when the order came through. His pilot told passengers the FAA had reported radio problems at multiple centers and was not allowing additional aircraft to take off.

The pilot said aircraft already airborne could continue to land. Kalmowitz was returning from a drive of the new Subaru Forester Wilderness Hybrid.

Cause remains under investigation

The article noted that the FAA had recently begun phasing out air traffic control floppy disks and had started rolling out a new AI air traffic tool the day before. It said there was no indication either development was connected to Friday’s disruption. The situation was still developing, with further updates expected as more information became available.