FAA issues national ground stop due to ‘extraordinary circumstances’ - Global News

The ​US Federal Aviation ‌Administration on Friday issued a national ground stop “due to ​extraordinary circumstance and ​reasons for safety” after the agency ⁠earlier reported serious ​air traffic control communications ​issues.

Shortly before the announcement, the FAA halted traffic in Chicago ​due to air ​traffic control communications issues. The agency ‌said, “All ⁠departing traffic should remain groundstopped until further notice.” The FAA said ​international flights ​will ⁠be managed on a case-by-case basis.

The ​FAA did not ​immediately ⁠respond to a request for comment.Friday was the second nationwide ground stop of all departures since the September 11, 2001, attacks. The other ​happened in ​January 2023, ⁠when the FAA paused all domestic departures for less than two ​hours.

Last year, Congress approved $12.5 billion to ​fix ⁠the FAA’s aging communications system, and on Friday the FAA and White House asked Congress for ⁠another $30.1 ​billion to address other ​issues.