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

Mullin said they are able to communicate "at certain levels. But it’s overwhelmed some of the systems we have."

Mullin said flights are continuing to land during the stoppage and that, for now, officials are working to "make sure" that "we get the flights down and then we get a normal operations back up."

What we don't know:

There was no timeline given for how long until the issue will be 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. "

US nationwide ground stop history

The backstory:

This is the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023, when a key FAA computer system malfunctioned. 

Before that the last time had been after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

What is a ground stop? 

Unlike a ground delay, a ground stop is usually a temporary advisory but tends to be more serious because of the ripple effects it can have on flights. 

Ground stops completely halt planes from taking off. 

The most common reasons for a ground stop according to the FAA are: 

• To control air traffic volume to airports when the projected traffic demand is expected to exceed the airport's acceptance rate for a short period of time.
• To temporarily stop traffic to allow time for the implementation of a longer-term solution, such as a Ground Delay Program.
• The affected airport's acceptance rate has been reduced to zero.

Like ground delays, weather can be a factor for a ground stop. 

Ground stop alerts will contain the three-letter airport code where the ground stop is occurring and the reason for the ground stop.