The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday ordered a rare nationwide ground stop on all departing flights, citing “extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.” The agency said the action followed a communication issue affecting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a social media post that FAA technicians were investigating the problem and would provide updates as they became available. According to the flight tracking site FlightRadar24, about 3,100 airborne aircraft were bound for U.S. airports when the stop began.
The FAA posted the ground stop on its National Airspace System Status website. Delays were reported at major airports including Miami, as well as Boston, Atlanta, Pittsburgh, New York City, Los Angeles and Baltimore. Inbound international flights were to be handled case by case, according to the Air Traffic Control System Command Center.
As of Friday afternoon, FlightAware counted at least 8,000 delays and 400 cancellations. Shortly before the national order, Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports were halted because of an equipment outage.
Robert Sumwalt, a former National Transportation Safety Board chair and a CBS News safety expert, called the event unprecedented. The last comparable nationwide stop came in January 2023, when a system outage delayed domestic flights for a few hours.
Travelers headed through Miami International and other South Florida airports should check with their airlines for updates. This is a developing story.
