FAA Grounds All Flights in the U.S. Over “Extraordinary Circumstances” and Safety

All flights in the United States are grounded until further notice, the Federal Aviation Administration says, following a communication issue affecting air traffic control centers across the country.

The FAA said the nationwide ground stop was issued “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the stop followed “a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers,” and that FAA technicians are investigating. Those centers are regional facilities that handle flights going across the country.

“Traffic should remain ground stopped until further notice,” the FAA said in an advisory. “International flights will be managed on a case by case basis.”

CNN reports the last nationwide ground stop was in January 2023, when a pilot notification system went down. Before that, the last one was after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

The FAA has not said what caused the problem or when flights will resume.