Flights are halted at airports across the United States due to unspecified ‘extraordinary circumstances,’ FAA says
WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all flights nationwide Friday afternoon because of communications problems at regional air traffic control centers. The FAA notice said the ground stop was being imposed “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.”
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said there is a communications issue affecting the regional air traffic control centers that direct planes between airports nationwide. He said FAA technicians are investigating. This is the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023 when a key FAA computer system malfunctioned. Before that the last time had been after the Sept. 11, 2011 terrorist attacks.
“Traffic should remain ground stopped until further notice,” the FAA said in an advisory. “International flights will be managed on a case by case basis.”
