WASHINGTON, DC – Greek News USA – [Photos: SHUTTERSTOCK]
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a nationwide ground stop Friday afternoon, halting all departing flights across the United States after a communications failure affected the country’s air traffic control system.
In a notice to aircraft operators, the FAA said the unprecedented action was being taken “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.” Under the order, flights already in the air were permitted to continue and land, while departures were temporarily prohibited nationwide. International flights were to be handled on a case-by-case basis.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the disruption involved communications systems affecting all 22 Air Route Traffic Control Centers, which oversee aircraft traveling between airports across the country. FAA technicians immediately began investigating the cause of the outage.
The ground stop disrupted operations at major airports nationwide, including John F. Kennedy International Airport, LaGuardia Airport, and Newark Liberty International Airport, as airlines and travelers faced delays and uncertainty.
The nationwide shutdown marks only the second time since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks that all U.S. departures have been grounded. The last nationwide ground stop occurred in January 2023, when a critical FAA computer system malfunction prompted the agency to suspend domestic departures for less than two hours.
The incident comes as federal officials continue efforts to modernize the nation’s aging air traffic control infrastructure. Congress approved $12.5 billion last year to upgrade FAA communications and technology systems, including replacing outdated copper wiring with fiber-optic networks and modernizing radio equipment at airports across the country.
Despite those investments, officials acknowledge significant work remains. Earlier Friday, the FAA and the White House renewed their call for an additional $30.1 billion in funding to complete long-term improvements to the aviation system, arguing that aging infrastructure remains a growing challenge for air traffic operations.
As the investigation continued, federal officials said they would provide updates as more information became available.
