FAA issues nationwide ground stop on all departing flights, citing 'communication issue'

The Federal Aviation Administration has issued a nationwide ground stop for all flights in the United States until further notice, "due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety."

U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote in a Friday post on X, "The @FAAnews issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them."

There are over 7,800 flights delayed within, into or out of the U.S. as of 4:30 p.m. ET, according to FlightAware.com, a live flight tracker website. There are also nearly 340 flights canceled within, into or out of the U.S.

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A Yahoo reporter who is currently on a plane on the tarmac waiting to depart on a United Airlines flight from Los Angeles International Airport says her pilot said, "In a nationwide ground stop, FAA just released an advisory, and we are told that at this time the ground stop will last until 11 p.m. Eastern time."

The pilot added, "What happened was a communications outage that started in Kansas City Center, which is responsible for the airspace above the middle of America, and it spread nationwide."

Nationwide ground stops are pretty rare. The last time such an event occurred was in January 2023, when a pilot notification system went down. Before then, a nationwide ground stop was issued following the September 11, 2001, attacks.

This is a breaking news story. Refresh this page for updates.

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