On a Friday afternoon, travelers across the United States watched departure boards fill with delays as the Federal Aviation Administration halted all domestic flights after communications failures struck the regional centers that guide aircraft between airports. Officials describe a telecommunications outage rather than an attack, and the pause, the first of its kind since a computer malfunction in January 2023, reminds us how much of modern life rests on quiet channels of voice and signal that most of us never think about until they fall silent. Before the day ended, the agency lifted the sto
FAA Grounds All Flights Nationwide After Communications Failure at Regional Air Traffic Centers
Thousands of travelers and sports teams were stranded or delayed, with hundreds of flights diverted and passengers left without clear information during the nationwide halt.
It was the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023.
Mark
Why does a ground stop matter so much when planes already in the air kept flying?
Mimi
Because the stop hits everything waiting to leave. Cirium counted at least 600 diversions, and some 11,000 flights with over 1.5 million passengers were scheduled after 4 p.m. Eastern.
Luke
Those are scheduled numbers, not confirmed cancellations. The 600 diversions is also a count as of 5:50 p.m., so it was still moving.
Mark
What do we actually know about the cause?
Mimi
Duffy said a communications problem was hitting the regional centers, and Mullin called it a telecommunications outage with no sign of an attack.
Luke
"No indication yet" is not the same as ruled out. And the reporting doesn't say what actually failed or why.
Mark
What about the FAA's new SMART system?
Mimi
It doesn't appear linked. Mullin said there's no indication of it, and ASI, which built it, denied any role.
Luke
Worth noting that's the designer's own statement. It's consistent with the officials, but it isn't an independent finding.
Mark
Was it dangerous in the air?
Mimi
Aviation professor Skip Bailey said pilots train for lost contact with controllers and can follow their last instructions and filed flight plans.
Luke
That's one expert's explanation of procedure, not a report of what happened on specific flights.
O Pulso
- Departure boards across the country turned to rows of delays within hours of the FAA's sudden nationwide stop.
- Hundreds of flights were diverted to airports they never meant to reach, with Chicago, Denver, Dallas and Reagan National absorbing the overflow.
- About 11,000 flights carrying more than 1.5 million passengers stood poised to depart after 4 p.m. Eastern, and every one was at risk of cancellation.
- Officials worked to rule out an attack and to clear the FAA's new SMART system, while Alaska and Hawaii flights were cleared and Europe and Mexico paused U.S.-bound departures.
- With the stop lifted and departures allowed to resume, airlines faced the slow work of restoring schedules, and American Airlines expected disruption to linger through the day.
On a Friday afternoon, travelers across the United States watched departure boards fill with delays as the Federal Aviation Administration halted all domestic flights after communications failures struck the regional centers that guide aircraft between airports. Officials describe a telecommunications outage rather than an attack, and the pause, the first of its kind since a computer malfunction in January 2023, reminds us how much of modern life rests on quiet channels of voice and signal that most of us never think about until they fall silent. Before the day ended, the agency lifted the stop, but the strangers left waiting in terminals had already learned how thin the thread of connection can be.
Travelers at Chicago O'Hare looked up on Friday afternoon to find delays spreading down the departure boards. Many learned only then that the Federal Aviation Administration had grounded all flights nationwide, after communications problems struck the regional air traffic control centers that guide planes between airports.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said technicians were investigating, and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was no sign of an attack, only a telecommunications outage. It was the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023. By the time the story was updated, the agency had lifted the stop and departures could resume.
The scale was large. Cirium counted at least 600 diverted flights, and about 11,000 flights carrying more than 1.5 million passengers were set to leave after 4 p.m. Eastern. Some flights were allowed to proceed: Alaska and Hawaii routes, and Pacific departures from San Francisco, were cleared, while Europe and Mexico paused U.S.-bound flights.
Passengers were left with little information. Amber McQuilkin, a Seattle engineer, feared missing a League of Legends final in New York. Austin Curtis, bound for a baby shower in Denver, was told to deplane at O'Hare and might stay the weekend in Chicago. Jeff Dubner sat on a stalled Alaska plane in Los Angeles for an hour and a half, calling it frustrating but said passengers were taking it in stride.
Sports teams were stranded as well. Several college football squads travelling for Saturday games were held, the Nets were halted after boarding in New Orleans, and NFL teams wondered whether they could reach their games in time. FedEx readied contingency plans for its cargo network.
Officials and companies moved quickly to rule out other causes. Microsoft and the National Weather Service reported no related problems, and the FAA's SMART system and its developer said they were not involved. Mullin and Duffy were to brief the White House that evening, and the cause and the pace of recovery remained open questions.
Travelers coming through security at Chicago O'Hare on Friday afternoon looked up at the departure boards and saw delays running down every row. That was how many of them learned the Federal Aviation Administration had grounded all flights nationwide, after communications problems hit the regional air traffic control centers that guide planes between airports.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the trouble was affecting those regional centers and that FAA technicians were investigating. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was no indication yet that it was a nefarious attack, calling it a telecommunications outage. It was the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023, when a key FAA computer system malfunctioned. Before that, the last came after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. By the time the story was updated, the agency had lifted the stop and said departures could resume.
The scale was large. Cirium, an aviation analytics firm, counted at least 600 diverted flights as of 5:50 p.m. Eastern: 496 returned to their origin airports and 104 landed at different ones. Chicago O'Hare, Denver International, Dallas Fort Worth and Reagan National were among the airports receiving many of them. About 11,000 flights carrying more than 1.5 million passengers were scheduled to depart after 4 p.m. Eastern, which made more cancellations and diversions likely.
Some flights were exempted. Alaska and Hawaii flights were cleared, and San Francisco airport said Pacific flights to Hawaii and Asia could leave from about 5 p.m. Eastern. Mullin had said international flights would be handled case by case. Alaska Airlines said its in-state Alaska flights and Hawaii inter-island flights were unaffected, and that West Coast flights to Hawaii and international departures from Honolulu could go, though it canceled and diverted some U.S. flights. Europe's aviation agency, which manages air traffic for 42 countries, suspended U.S.-bound departures at the FAA's request from 5 p.m. Eastern until midnight. Mexico's aviation agency grounded scheduled flights from Mexican airports to the U.S.
Passengers were left with little information. Amber McQuilkin, a Seattle software engineer, feared missing the League of Legends world finals in New York, where her friends had already arrived. She said she considered driving but decided it would be miserable. Austin Curtis and his wife, bound from South Bend, Indiana, to a baby shower in Denver, had boarded at O'Hare when they were told to get off. With their two children already cared for at home, he said they might stay the weekend in Chicago and make the most of it. In Los Angeles, attorney Jeff Dubner sat on an Alaska Airlines plane for an hour and a half after leaving the gate, bound for Washington, D.C. He called it frustrating but said passengers were taking it in stride.
Sports travel was thrown off too. Most college football teams playing Saturday travel the day before, leaving No. 2 Utah, No. 8 Texas and No. 9 Tennessee at a standstill. The Nets, among five NBA teams due to fly Friday, had just boarded in New Orleans for Memphis when the flight was halted. The Sharks were stuck waiting to leave for Utah, while the Panthers reached St. Louis before the stop. NFL teams wondered whether they could travel in time. Cargo was affected as well. FedEx, which flies nearly 700 aircraft and moves an average of 17 million packages daily, said it was ready to activate contingency plans.
Officials and companies worked to rule out other causes. Microsoft said it had no indication a Thursday outage of Outlook and other services was related. The National Weather Service said its radar and website were fully operational. The problems did not appear linked to the FAA's new AI-powered SMART system, and its developer, ASI, said the ground stop was not a result of its products. Aviation professor Skip Bailey of the University of Nebraska at Omaha said pilots are trained for lost radio contact, and that it was not mass chaos, but keeping more planes from taking off made sense.
Mullin and Duffy were scheduled to brief the White House press corps Friday evening. What remains to watch is the cause of the outage and how quickly airlines recover; American Airlines said it expected disruptions for the rest of the day.
Citações Notáveis
There's no indication yet that this was a nefarious attack; it's just a telecommunications outage.— Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin
It's not mass chaos out there. There's plenty of ways to try to communicate.— Skip Bailey, aviation professor, University of Nebraska at Omaha
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