FAA Halts All US Departures as Control Centers Lose Link
A nationwide ground stop grounded thousands of flights after a communication failure affected air traffic control centers across the United States.
By Samuel Hayes ·
The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a nationwide ground stop on Friday, halting all departing flights in the United States after a communication failure disrupted air traffic control centers. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy described the cause as a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. The order means aircraft already in the air can land, but planes on the ground cannot take off.
Flight tracking data from FlightAware showed nearly 7,000 flights were delayed or cancelled as the disruption spread. Duffy stated that FAA technicians were investigating the problem and that the agency would provide immediate updates as they became available. The halt was the second nationwide ground stop of all departures since the September 11, 2001, attacks. The previous incident occurred in January 2023, when the FAA paused all domestic departures for less than two hours.
The event adds to a pattern of strain on the US air traffic control system, which has faced equipment failures, communications problems, and controller shortages. The FAA is currently working to replace ageing infrastructure. Congress approved $12.5 billion for the overhaul last year. On the same day as the ground stop, the FAA and White House asked lawmakers for an additional $30.1 billion to fund the project.
Hours before the national order, the FAA had already halted traffic in Chicago due to similar communications issues. The agency instructed that all departing traffic in that region remain grounded until further notice. International flights were to be managed on a case-by-case basis as controllers worked to restore standard operations.
