The US Federal Ap for all airports in the country, citing “extraordinary circumstances” and “for reasons of safety”
All departing aircraft were ordered to remain grounded until further notice, while inbound international flights will be managed on a case-by-case basis.
Markwayne Mullin, US Secretary of Homeland Security, said he believed it was the first time since the Al Qaeda attacks on September 11, 2001 that the US had seen a total stoppage of flights.
We’re getting a tonne of calls saying, ‘Is
“We’re getting a tonne of calls saying, ‘Is this a terrorist attack? Is this a terrorist attack?’ Everybody’s safe,” Mr Mullin told reporters at the White House.
“There is no reason to be concerned about your loved ones if they’re flying or anything like that.”
The FAA said its technicians are “investigating the issue”. It later added that there had been a “temporary” telecommunications outage and “out of an abundance of caution all flights have been halted.”
Every flight has been accounted for and international
“Every flight has been accounted for and international flights will be handled on a case by case basis,” the agency said.
Mr Mullin said he didn’t “see any reason” to connect the ground stop to the global outage of Microsoft’s email app Outlook a day earlier.
“Those are separate issues,” he said, but noted that nothing had been ruled out, including a potential link to artificial intelligence.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the FAA issued
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the FAA issued a nationwide ground stop for all US airports after “a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centre”.
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.
United said in a statement that flights already airborne will continue, and domestic flights will not depart while the ground stop remains in place.
United will work with our customers to get
“United will work with our customers to get them to their destinations once this issue is resolved,” the company wrote.
Show caption: Commercial Airplanes are pictured parked at gates after flig…
Shortly before the announcement, the FAA halted traffic in Chicago due to air traffic control communications issues.
Nationwide ground stops are exceptionally rare. The FAA stopped flights in January 2023 after a pilot system failed overnight. A nationwide halt was also ordered during the September 11, 2001 terror attacks.
