Live updates: FAA says nationwide ground stop due to 'temporary telecommunications outage'

A nationwide ground stop has been issued by the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday.

Nationwide ground stop issued

What we know:

In its latest post to X, the FAA stated there was a "temporary telecommunications outage" and out of an abundance of caution, all flights have been halted. 
 

An earlier advisory posted to the FAA website read: 

"DCC has implemented extended flight plan drop times to 240 minutes for all enroute centers due to nationwide comms failure." 

An initial advisory posted on Friday stated:

"Due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety. Attention all aircraft operators, by order of the Federal Aviation Command Center all airports are ground stopped. All departing traffic should remain ground stopped until further notice. Inbound international flights will be managed on a case by case basis." 

Not ‘another 9/11’

What they're saying:

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullins assured reporters that the ground stop issuance was not because Americans' safety were at risk.

"We have a ground stoppage, we still got to get the flights out. Right. And so we're going to be dealing with those case by case. I think he said specific. It's a telecommunication outage. I'm not going to get ahead of FAA. That's their lane to talk about. We were wanting to assure all the American people this isn't a safety to the American people or another 9/11 I think that's what a lot of people are trying to make the comparison to, and that's not the case," he said

What we don't know:

There was no timeline given for how long until the issue was resolved. 

Airports and airlines receive ground stop advisories

Local perspective:

U.S. airports and airlines around the country received advisories regarding the nationwide ground stop.

United Airlines

"United Airlines is responding to a nationwide ground stop issued by the FAA. United flights that are already airborne will continue. New domestic flights will not depart while the FAA ground stop remains in place. United will work with our customers to get them to their destinations once this issue is resolved."

Atlanta 

"The FAA has issued a ground stop affecting departures at ATL and other major airports. Arriving flights are permitted to land, however, departures are temporarily suspended. Travelers should check with their airlines for flight updates. We will provide an update as more information becomes available. "

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