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FAA lifts nationwide ground stop, airline flights resume

UPDATE 6PM:
The Federal Aviation Administration says airplane departures can resume after the agency lifted a nationwide ground stop caused by communications problems.

The FAA had grounded all flights nationwide earlier on Friday afternoon, causing hundreds of flights to be diverted. Officials cited “extraordinary circumstances” caused by communications problems at regional air traffic control centers.

The nationwide ground stop was the first since January 2023, when a key FAA computer system malfunctioned, and the second since the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The nation’s top homeland security official attributed the problem to a telecommunications outage and said there was no indication the communications failure was related to a cyberattack. Trump administration officials blamed ‘overloaded,’ ‘outdated’ systems.

The consequences were profound, disrupting potentially thousands of planned flights through at least late Friday night and upending travel plans for passengers.

Friday’s restrictions were imposed “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety,” according to an FAA notice. The agency was investigating a communication issue affecting the 22 regional air traffic control centers that direct planes en route between airports nationwide, said Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy.

International flights were being handled on a case-by-case basis, according to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.

Cargo flights were also delayed by the ground stop.

FedEx, the world’s largest cargo airline, said it is prepared to activate contingency plans to keep any possible disruptions at a minimum.

U.S. airlines move about 61,000 tons of goods – from letters to packages -- to and from more than 220 countries daily, according to the industry trade group Airlines for America.

The government has been working to overhaul the outdated technology that air traffic controllers rely on since Congress approved $12.5 billion for the project last year. Miles of old copper wires have been replaced with fiber optic lines and old radio systems are gradually being replaced at airports across the country.

But much work remains. Duffy has said that another $30 billion will be needed to complete the work, and the White House has begun lobbying Congress to approve it.


(AP Photo Mike Stewart)

 
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