FAA orders nationwide ground stop for all US flight departures

Detailed summary

The grounding was the first nationwide flight stoppage since January 2023, when an FAA computer system malfunctioned. Before that, the last nationwide grounding followed the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

Editor's note: This story has been updated to include the latest developments.

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a nationwide ground stop for all departing flights on Nov. 13, citing safety concerns amid widespread air traffic control communications problems.

"All departing traffic should remain groundstopped until further notice," the FAA said in its advisory, adding that inbound international flights would be handled on a case-by-case basis, according to Reuters.

The agency described the move as necessary "due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety."

The FAA lifted the ground stop the evening of Nov. 13, after over four hours cancelations and delays.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the communications problems affected 22 regional air traffic control centers responsible for directing aircraft between airports across the country, according to the Associated Press. FAA technicians were investigating the cause.

The FAA told airlines that a problem with network routers was responsible for the nationwide communications outage, CNN reported, citing an airline source.

The problem was believed to have originated at Chicago Midway International Airport before spreading across the country, according to the report.

Authorities are also investigating whether the outage was connected to the nationwide rollout of a new artificial intelligence-assisted air traffic management system, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said.

Opening of the article, excerpted from The Kyiv Independent. To read the rest, open the article on the publisher's site.