FAA Grounds All U.S. Flights Over Control Center Glitch
A communication failure affecting every Air Route Traffic Control Center triggered a nationwide stop Friday, leaving thousands of passengers waiting for updates on when planes can take off again.
By Fatima Saleh ·
Passengers at U.S. airports faced a sudden halt to all departures on Friday after the Federal Aviation Administration declared a nationwide ground stop. The order, issued under the agency's 'extraordinary circumstances' authority, requires every aircraft scheduled to leave U.S. soil to remain on the tarmac. Flights already in the air were permitted to continue to their destinations.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed the halt in a social media post Friday afternoon. He stated that the stop followed a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. Duffy noted that FAA technicians are currently investigating the problem, and the agency promised to release immediate updates as information becomes available.
The disruption began in the mid-afternoon. An air traffic controller, speaking to Scripps News on condition of anonymity, reported receiving notice of a frequency issue at one East Coast airport at 3:36 p.m. Eastern Time. Within minutes, two other control towers reported similar problems. Shortly thereafter, the nationwide ground stop was announced to prevent potential conflicts.
The controller said staff had not yet been given a specific cause for the issue or a timeline for a fix. While some airports appeared to continue operations normally, others remained affected by the technological problem. The FAA indicated that incoming international flights would be managed on a case-by-case basis until further notice.
This is the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023, when FAA computer malfunctions grounded traffic. The previous incident occurred in the wake of the September 11 attacks. The agency is currently in the middle of a major systems overhaul, spending $12.5 billion to replace old physical and radio networks with new technology.
Secretary Duffy added that the FAA may need Congressional approval for another $30 billion to complete the modernization work. For now, the ground stop remains in effect, and the FAA has not set a specific time for when operations will resume.
The agency's announcement cited safety as the primary reason for the hold. Technicians continue to work on the communication failure that triggered the order, while passengers at airports across the country wait for news on when their flights will depart.
