White House / President·Air travel
FAA halts departures at every U.S. airport after a communications outage hits air traffic control centers; DHS says no sign yet of an attack
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a nationwide ground stop Friday afternoon "due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety," holding all departing flights while planes already in the air were allowed to land, according to the FAA advisory and the Washington Examiner. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said a communications issue was affecting all 22 Air Route Traffic Control Centers, and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said investigators were looking into a possible telecommunications problem and were "not ruling out anything," the Washington Examiner and New York Post reported. AP said it is the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023, and the Post reported a source saying a software upgrade may be to blame.
- Washington ExaminerFAA imposes nationwide ground stop on all flights
- New York PostAll planes halted across US as FAA issues nationwide ground stop over 'extraordinary circumstances'
- APLive updates: FAA grounds all flights nationwide due to communications problems