Here’s what we know so far about the US flight shutdown, and what it means for travel

Follow along to our live coverage of the US aviation emergency here. 

A nationwide ground stop has been issued for flights across the United States following serious communications issues affecting air traffic control systems. The outage is having follow-on effects in Australia, with flights bound for the US delayed or grounded. Here’s everything we know so far.

Flights already in the air are being permitted to land, but all domestic ground departures have been halted.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said a communications issue was affecting the regional air traffic control centres that direct planes between airports nationwide. He said FAA technicians were investigating.

Certain US flights have been cleared for departure, including flights within Alaska and Hawaii, as have some international flights that are departing US airspace.

In a post on X, Duffy said: “FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them.”

The FAA has attributed the nationwide disruption to “extraordinary circumstances”, but has yet to disclose further details about the incident.

The Department of Homeland Security has also said there is currently no indication that the communications failure was caused by foul play.

At this stage, the exact cause of the failure has not been specified. Further updates are expected as the FAA continues to investigate the communications failure.

A nationwide ground stop of this scale is an extremely rare occurrence in US aviation history.

It is understood to be only the third time such an order has been issued nationwide. The first occurred following the September 11 terrorist attacks in 2001, while the second took place in January 2023 after the FAA’s Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system suffered an outage.

The communications failure comes just days after the FAA announced plans to begin rolling out an AI system across the US to help air traffic controllers manage traffic and prevent delays, The New York Times has reported.

The timing has raised questions. According to the report, the AI technology was first unveiled at Washington DC airports two months ago on the same day a separate communications failure grounded hundreds of flights.

That earlier outage was caused by a circuit failure after contractors accidentally cut through a backup fibre line.

University of Sydney aviation professor Rico Merkert said: “It’s really important to have modern infrastructure in this space and without that, you can add as much AI as you like to those systems, but if you don’t have that proper ground infrastructure there, then it’s that’s not functional.”

The ground stop is expected to cause widespread disruption across the US aviation network, with delays and cancellations likely to have knock-on effects throughout the day.

The Australian Travel Industry Association CEO Dean Long said it was a developing situation for Australian travellers which will have “knock-on impacts”.

For travellers who have booked through an ATIA-accredited travel business, “expect to hear from them or your airline”.

Planes are parked on the tarmac at Dallas Fort Worth International Airport in DFW Airport, Texas.AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez“If you’re travelling in the next 72 hours, that’s our priority.”

“If you haven’t heard from your travel agent, tour operator or airline yet, get in touch with them.”

For those not flying within 72 hours, they should hold off communicating with travel agencies and airlines “so they can look after the travellers who need it most urgently.”

“We know this is unsettling for travellers,” Long said. “Our members are there to help, and we are monitoring the situation closely.”

In an update released at 10am AEDT, the FAA said the ground stop remains in place but “as en route facilities recover, flights will be allowed to depart” – with flights being released gradually as air traffic control centres recover.

For Australian travellers flying to the United States, airports are monitoring the situation and advising passengers to check directly with their airlines.

Qantas said passengers are advised to check for updates through the airline’s app. Flight QF4 (New York to Auckland) is expected to be delayed.

Meanwhile, US airlines have warned passengers to expect disruptions.

United Airlines confirmed that flights already airborne would continue to their destinations, but new domestic departures would remain grounded while the FAA order was in place.

United is proactively cancelling flights due to congestion in the nation’s air traffic system, and issuing travel waivers, so customers can change their travel plans.

Delta also has a travel waiver for customers to change their flights.

American Airlines also confirmed that aircraft already in the air could continue to their destinations, but warned that disruption to its schedule could continue throughout the day, depending on how long the nationwide ground stop remains in place.

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