• Analysis
FAA ground stop halts all US departures after air traffic control communication issue
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a nationwide FAA ground stop of all departing flights on Friday after a communication issue hit air traffic control centres across the United States, delaying or cancelling nearly 7,000 flights.
Communication issue behind the FAA ground stop
The Federal Aviation Administration stopped all departures nationwide on Friday after a communications failure struck air traffic control centres across the country. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy attributed the halt to a communication issue affecting the centres.
Under the order, planes already in the air may land, but aircraft on the ground cannot take off. The FAA said departing traffic should remain groundstopped until further notice, and it would manage international flights on a case-by-case basis.
Nearly 7,000 flights disrupted
Tracking service FlightAware said nearly 7,000 flights were delayed or cancelled as a result of the stop. The nationwide order came in stages:
- •Shortly before the national announcement, the FAA halted traffic in Chicago over air traffic control communications issues.
- •The stop was then extended to departing flights at all US airports.
Duffy: technicians investigating
In a statement, Duffy said FAA technicians were working on the problem and that updates would follow.
"The FAA issued a nationwide ground stop for all US airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centres."
Second nationwide stop since 2001
Friday's halt was only the second nationwide ground stop of all departures since the September 11, 2001 attacks. The other came in January 2023, when the FAA paused all domestic departures for less than two hours.
The request for extra money came the same day. Congress approved $12.5 billion for an overhaul of air traffic control infrastructure last year, and on Friday the FAA and the White House asked lawmakers for another $30.1 billion. The US system has faced equipment failures, communications problems and shortages of controllers while the FAA works to replace ageing infrastructure.
