US grounds flights nationwide after air traffic control communications outage

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The US Federal Aviation Administration grounded all departing flights nationwide on Friday after a communications failure hit air traffic control centers across the country, disrupting thousands of flights.

WASHINGTON - The US Federal Aviation Administration grounded all departing flights nationwide on Friday after a communications failure hit air traffic control centers across the country, disrupting thousands of flights.

The announcement meant planes in the air may land, but those on the ground cannot take off. Flight tracking service FlightAware said nearly 7,000 flights were delayed or canceled due to the nationwide ground stop.

“The FAA issued a nationwide ground stop for all US airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said.

The disruption is the latest sign of strain on the US air traffic control system, which has been beset by equipment failures, communications problems and shortages of controllers while the FAA tries to replace aging infrastructure. Congress approved $12.5 billion for the overhaul last year, and the FAA and White House asked lawmakers on Friday for another $30.1 billion.

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 ground stopped until further notice." The FAA said it would manage international flights on a case-by-case basis.

Friday's halt 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.

More than 4,700 flights were canceled and 10,000 delayed on Friday, while another 700 had already been canceled for Saturday, according to FlightRadar24. Aviation analysts said it could take days for airlines to restore their schedules after a nationwide grounding that lasted more than four hours.

The Department of Homeland Security said there were no signs the outage was caused by a cyberattack. —Reuters

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