FAA Issues Emergency Nationwide Ground Stop On All Flights

All departing flights in the United States have been halted as of Friday afternoon by order of the Federal Aviation Administration.

According to CNN, the FAA has grounded all flights until further notice, “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.”

From CNN:

The reason for the ground stop was not immediately clear, but an FAA spokesperson said there is a communications problem impacting Air Route Traffic Control Centers, which handle flights going across the country.

The last time there was a nationwide ground stop was in January 2023, when a pilot notification system went down. Prior to that, the last nationwide ground stop was issued after the September 11, 2001, attacks.

NBC Chicago reports that an alert from the FAA said, “Inbound flights will be managed on a case-by-case basis.”

In a post on his X account, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote, “The @FAAnews issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them.”

Axios notes, “The FAA has been rolling out a new AI tool designed to help manage airspace congestion, but it’s unclear if that system has any connection to Friday’s communication issues.”

This is a developing story, and NewsOne will update as details become available