Washington: The Federal Aviation Administration lifted its nationwide ground stop Friday night, allowing flights to resume after a communications failure disrupted air travel across the United States and stranded passengers at airports.
The FAA ordered the FAA ground stop Friday afternoon because of communications problems affecting regional air traffic control centers. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the issue affected all 22 centers responsible for directing aircraft between airports.
The agency described the decision as a safety measure, citing extraordinary circumstances. The disruption marked the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023, when a major FAA computer system malfunctioned.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy attributed the outage to aging air traffic control technology that became overloaded with data. He said the system relied on outdated switches, routers and copper communication lines.
Duffy warned that restoring normal flight operations would take time, even after the FAA lifted its restrictions. Airlines needed to reposition aircraft and crews while working through cancellations and delays caused by the disruption.
The ground stop affected passengers across major U.S. airports, including Chicago O’Hare, Denver International, Dallas Fort Worth and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport. Hundreds of flights were diverted as the restrictions took effect.
According to aviation analytics company Cirium, at least 600 flights had been diverted by 5:50 p.m. Eastern Friday. More than 1.5 million passengers were scheduled to travel on approximately 11,000 flights after 4 p.m.
The disruption also affected international travel. Mexico’s federal aviation agency grounded scheduled flights from Mexican airports to the United States, while European aviation authorities suspended U.S.-bound departures for several hours.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said officials had no indication that a cyberattack caused the communications failure. He said the government was investigating the incident and working to restore normal operations.
The FAA said it thoroughly tested its systems to confirm they were stable and reliable before allowing departures to resume. Passengers were advised to contact their airlines for the latest flight information.
Airlines continued adjusting schedules after the restrictions ended. United Airlines, JetBlue and Air Canada announced cancellations affecting Friday services, while carriers warned that disruptions could continue into Saturday.
The ground stop also affected cargo operations, with FedEx monitoring the situation and preparing contingency plans. The FAA restriction applied to departing flights at U.S. airports, including aircraft carrying packages and freight.
