Thousands of flights disrupted as US issues nationwide ground stop

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday (local time) issued a nationwide ground stop across all US airports following a telecommunications outage affecting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers, disrupting thousands of flights across the country, reported ANI.

US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy confirmed the development in a post on X, saying the FAA had ordered the ground stop after a communication issue affected air traffic control operations nationwide.

"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," Duffy stated.

The FAA also confirmed that the disruption was caused by a temporary telecommunications outage and said flights had been halted as a precautionary measure.

"There has been a temporary telecommunications outage - out of an abundance of caution all flights have been halted. Every flight has been accounted for and international flights will be handled on a case by case basis," the FAA said in a post on X.

According to flight-tracking platform FlightAware, approximately 7,000 flights were either delayed or cancelled following the ground stop.

The communication issue reportedly affected all 22 Air Route Traffic Control Centers across the United States, which are responsible for guiding aircraft, particularly incoming flights, within their respective regions.

According to flight-tracking website Flightradar24, around 4,042 flights were airborne and headed towards US airports when the ground stop order was issued.

Meanwhile, US Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was no indication that the nationwide aviation disruption had been triggered by a threat to the country.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Mullin assured that all flights had been accounted for and passengers were safe, while cautioning that resolving the disruption could take time.

"Everybody’s safe. The flights are accounted for," he said, adding, "This is not another 9/11."

He further stated, "It's going to take some time."

Mullin also said authorities had not ruled out any possible explanation for the telecommunications outage, including a potential connection with the planned rollout of a new artificial intelligence tool intended to assist air traffic controllers.

When asked whether the AI tool could have contributed to the disruption, he said, "You just can’t rule out anything at this point. We are going through that process."

The Homeland Security Secretary also sought to reassure the public, saying there was no immediate reason for concern about passengers travelling by air.

"Everybody is safe. There is no reason to be concerned about your loved ones if they're flying."

He reiterated that the ground stop was a precautionary decision following the telecommunications failure and said there was no indication so far of a deliberate attack.

"This was a telecommunications outage throughout FAA. Out of an abundance of caution, we have grounded all the fights. There is no indication as of yet that this was a nefarious attack," Mullin said.

US President Donald Trump was also briefed on the situation, Mullin confirmed.

The nationwide ground stop marks the second such instance since the September 11, 2001 attacks, according to the information provided, highlighting the scale of the disruption to US aviation operations.

Meanwhile, Eurocontrol said on Friday that all flights departing from its member states for U.S. airports were suspended at the request of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration due to technical issues, reported Xinhua.

The suspension covers departures between 2200 GMT on Friday and 0500 GMT on Saturday, the European air traffic management agency said in a notice posted at 2303 GMT.

Eurocontrol's Network Manager Operations Center in Brussels said it was closely monitoring the situation and would provide updates.

Eurocontrol is an intergovernmental organization with 42 member states, including Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Türkiye, that supports air traffic management across Europe.