FAA Issues National Ground Stop Citing Extraordinary Circumstance, Safety Reasons - Newsweek

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a national ground stop on Friday afternoon due to "extraordinary circumstances" and "reasons of safety."

The advisory says that by order of the federal aviation command center, all airports are ground stopped.

"All departing traffic should remain ground stopped until further notice. Inbound international flights will be managed on a case by case basis," the advisory says.

In a statement sent to Newsweek on Friday afternoon, the FAA said it "issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following communication issues impacting multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide updates."

The agency added that the information is preliminary and subject to change.

The Pentagon referred Newsweek to FAA officials when reached for comment.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy posted to X on Friday and wrote, "The @FAAnews issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them."

Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters on Friday that "there was no prior indication, there was no indication as of yet, that this was a nefarious attack against us. It's just a telecommunications outage as of right now."

He added that "there is no reason to be concerned about your loved ones, that they're flying." He continued that the priority right now is to ensure that all the flights in the air get on the ground, communications are restored, and normal operations can return.

"The FAA has temporarily paused departures nationwide," a spokesperson for American Airlines told Newsweek in a statement. "Flights already in the air can continue to their destinations. We expect disruption to our schedule for the rest of the day, depending on the length of the FAA’s nationwide ground stop. It will be all hands-on deck across American to get customers on their way as soon as possible when the FAA lifts this ground stop."

In a statement to Newsweek, United Airlines said that it's also responding to the nationwide ground stop.

"United flights that are already airborne will continue. New domestic flights will not depart while the FAA ground stop remains in place," the airline said. "United will work with our customers to get them to their destinations once this issue is resolved."

There have only been three nationwide ground stops ever, the first after the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, and the second was in January 2023 due to pilot alert system issues.

The source of the reported communication issues on Friday is immediately unknown at the time of publication. The ground stop is likely to snarl air traffic with heavy delays, impacting thousands of travelers into the weekend.

"Ground stops are not unusual," Marc Nichols, who served as FAA chief counsel under former President Joe Biden, told Newsweek. "Nationwide ground stops are a little more unusual. These stops, however, could be for a few reasons, including anticipated weather, security concerns, or system malfunctions. At this stage, we should not speculate as to the cause. The Secretary's statement suggests the cause is an ATC communication issue. The FAA's primary concern is safety of passengers, and it will share more details with the public when appropriate."

Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD) warned travelers that they should expect delays due to the ground stop. "Our airport facilities are open. Check with your airline regarding the status of your flight," its post on X read.

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport (ATL) wrote on X in part that "departures are temporarily suspended. Travelers should check with their airlines for flight updates."

The National Weather Service (NWS) also said it was aware of a national radar outage impacting radar.weather.gov. "We appreciate your patience as we investigate this matter," it added.

Contact Newsweek editors for this story: Samantha Beech and Anthony Murray.