FAA Grounds All U.S. Flights Amid Nationwide Communications Failure

The Federal Aviation Administration grounded every flight in the United States on Friday afternoon after a telecommunications failure disrupted operations at regional air traffic control centers. The agency issued the order due to extraordinary circumstances and safety concerns. This is the first time the FAA has implemented a nationwide ground stop since January 2023, when a computer system malfunction halted operations. The previous nationwide stoppage occurred after the attacks on September 11, 2001.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that the issue affects the systems used to direct planes between airports. He confirmed that FAA technicians are currently investigating the cause. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there is no indication yet that a malicious attack caused the outage. He described the event as a telecommunications outage. Mullin noted that while officials can communicate at certain levels, some systems are overwhelmed.

The FAA’s notice specifies that the ground stop runs through at least 11 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday. The agency is managing international departures on a case-by-case basis. Flights already in the air are landing safely. The FAA said all flights have been accounted for. The cause of the outage remains unknown, though officials are not ruling out a connection to a Microsoft outage that occurred on Thursday.

Europe’s aviation agency suspended U.S.-bound departures at the request of the FAA. The suspension began at 5 p.m. Eastern on Friday and lasts until midnight. The agency manages air traffic for 42 member countries across the continent. This move adds to the disruption for travelers attempting to reach the United States from abroad.

The stoppage has thrown the sports world into chaos. NBA, NHL, and college teams are stranded as they attempt to reach their destinations for weekend games. Most college football teams travel the day before their match. The halt has left schools such as No. 2 Utah, eighth-ranked Texas, and No. 9 Tennessee waiting on the ground. These teams were en route to road games against Arizona, LSU, and Texas A&M, respectively. It is also unclear whether referees will make it to their assignments in time.

Passengers at major airports are dealing with delays and uncertainty. At Chicago O’Hare International Airport, travelers learned of the ground stop by watching flight delay screens. Amber McQuilkin, a Seattle software engineer, sat on a bench considering whether to drive to New York for a trip with friends. She had already taken a week of vacation for the event. Jeff Dubner, a Washington, D.C. attorney, was stuck on a tarmac in Los Angeles an hour and a half after his plane left the gate. His Alaska Airlines flight to Washington, D.C. was taxiing when it stopped.

In Wichita, passengers on an American Airlines flight to Chicago received text messages about air traffic conditions. The plane sat on the runway for about an hour before the captain announced the problem was nationwide. The aircraft then returned to the gate. At Detroit, a passenger recorded a midair announcement from a Delta captain. The captain told passengers that other planes would be unable to depart, but their flight would land within the hour.

Aviation professor Skip Bailey said pilots are trained to handle lost communications with controllers. He explained that pilots maintain the headings and vectors given before the problem. If the outage continues, they revert to their filed flight plans. Pilots can also communicate with each other over radio. Bailey noted that keeping planes on the ground is critical to avoid adding more aircraft to a strained system.

United Airlines and American Airlines issued statements regarding the pause. United said domestic flights would not depart while international departures are managed individually. American Airlines expects disruptions for the rest of the day. The airline stated that staff will work to get customers on their way as soon as the FAA lifts the ground stop.