FAA halts all US departures in nationwide ground stop

Why the FAA ordered the stop

The agency cited extraordinary circumstances and reasons of safety when it issued the national stop on Friday afternoon. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced it on X, pointing to a communication issue affecting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers, and said FAA staff were troubleshooting the problem and that he would post updates as more became known.

Later the FAA described a temporary telecommunications outage and said that, as a precaution, every flight had been halted. It added that every flight had been accounted for and that international services would be handled case by case.

Timing and the lifting of the stop

The stop lasted several hours. Officials announced it had been lifted and that flights would resume, and domestic departures were cleared to begin again in the evening.

Duffy blamed obsolete equipment for the outage and cautioned that, without major system updates, more disruptions of this kind could follow. The report describes it as the third nationwide ground stop the FAA has issued.

Lingering disruption for travellers

It remains unclear how many flights can depart and when. Airports are now overloaded, and some flight crews have run out of time to operate their planes, so many passengers are likely to remain where they are for now and further flights may be delayed or cancelled.

The effects of the stoppage are expected to be felt throughout the weekend, even though planes may fly again.

Wider pressures on the aviation sector

The stop came days after the FAA expanded its use of an AI tool. Separately, jet fuel prices have roughly doubled since the war in Iran began, and airlines worldwide have been cutting routes, raising fares, adding fuel surcharges and boosting baggage fees.

Open questions

• How many flights will be able to take off, and when?
• Will the equipment problems recur before the systems are updated?