US flights grounded nationwide after communications outage
Officials say the stoppage appears to be a telecommunications outage, not a hostile attack, while the root cause is still being investigated.
Key points
- The FAA issued a nationwide ground stop for US departures on Friday.
- More than 11,000 flights were delayed or cancelled, according to FlightAware.
- Officials said the outage appears to be telecommunications related, not a nefarious attack.
- Routers are believed to have failed at Chicago Midway airport and spread across the US.
- This is the third time all US departures have been halted.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has halted all flights due to depart in the United States, causing more than 11,000 flights to be delayed or cancelled, according to the aviation tracker FlightAware. The stop was ordered on Friday, and the agency’s technicians are working to find the cause.
Sean Duffy, the US transportation secretary, wrote on X that the problem was a communication issue affecting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. The FAA said in a notice that the ground stop was imposed because of extraordinary circumstances and for safety reasons.
Officials say no attack has been found
Markwayne Mullin, the Department of Homeland Security director, told a news conference that early investigations did not point to a nefarious attack. He described the situation as a telecommunications outage for now.
Mullin said communications would be restored so that aircraft already in the air could land. He added that officials would keep working to find the root cause and were not ruling anything out. He also said there was no clear estimate of how long the stoppage would last.
Airports and travellers affected
The Los Angeles mayor, Karen Bass, said she was aware of the stoppage and was receiving updates. Los Angeles International Airport sits in her city, and the Bureau of Transportation Statistics ranks it fifth among the busiest airports in America by traffic.
At Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, many passengers gathered in the terminal, checking their phones and trying to change bookings. Some sat on the floor, using their luggage as desks.
San Francisco International Airport said flights bound for Hawaii and Asia had been cleared to leave. John F Kennedy Airport advised travellers to check their flight status with airlines before going to the terminal.
Impact on international routes
British Airways cancelled a New York flight that had been due to leave Heathrow late on Friday night. A spokesperson for Manchester Airport said three Virgin Atlantic flights to the US, scheduled for Saturday morning, were likely to be affected if the problem was not fixed soon.
According to CNN, the FAA told airlines that router malfunctions were believed to have started at Chicago Midway airport and spread across the rest of the country.
Why the stoppage matters
Under a ground stop, aircraft on the ground must stay there and cannot take off, while planes already airborne are normally allowed to continue. This is only the third time all departing flights in the US have been grounded. The earlier cases were on 11 September 2001 and in January 2023, when a pilot notification system failure led to a pause of less than two hours.
The FAA employs more than 14,000 air traffic controllers who handle more than 44,000 daily departures, according to agency data. Last week the agency said its first digital air traffic control towers in Alaska and Florida were operational, part of a modernisation project. Congress approved $12.5bn last year to repair the FAA’s ageing communications systems, and on Friday the FAA and the White House requested another $30.1bn for other issues.
Frequently asked questions
Why did the FAA ground flights nationwide?
The FAA issued the ground stop because of a communication issue affecting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers, according to Sean Duffy. The agency cited extraordinary circumstances and safety.
Was the outage caused by an attack?
Markwayne Mullin said early investigations did not indicate a nefarious attack and described it as a telecommunications outage. Officials said they were not ruling anything out.
How many flights were affected?
According to FlightAware, more than 11,000 US flights were delayed or cancelled. The FAA handles more than 44,000 departures each day.
Sources
- The Guardian: Nationwide FAA ground stop: nearly 11,000 flights delayed or canceled at airports across the US
This article was written with the help of AI from reports by the outlets listed above. See our Editorial Policy. Spotted a mistake? Tell us.
