Key Points
- The FAA grounded all departing U.S. flights Friday after a communication issue hit all Air Route Traffic Control Centers, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.
- Inbound international flights are being managed case by case, while the agency cited “extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety” in its alert.
- Nationwide ground stops are extremely rare — the last two came after the 9/11 attacks and in January 2023 over a pilot alert system failure.
Summary
The FAA halted all departing flights across the U.S. on Friday after a communication issue affected every Air Route Traffic Control Center, the high-altitude facilities that manage flights between airports, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said. Duffy said on X that the agency “issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers,” and that FAA technicians are investigating. The agency said all departing flights would be grounded and inbound international flights would be handled case by case, citing “extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.” Nationwide ground stops are extremely rare: the FAA issued one on 9/11 after the terror attacks, and again in January 2023 over problems with a pilot alert system. The story is breaking, and the FAA has not said how long the stop will last or what caused the communication failure.
Source: skift.com
