On a Friday afternoon in mid-November, the Federal Aviation Administration brought the nation's departing flights to a halt, grounding aircraft across America while a telecommunications failure touching the air traffic control network was investigated. Travelers at airports from Newark to Los Angeles were left waiting, unsure of their luggage and connections, in a moment that recalls how fragile the invisible wires of modern travel can be. Officials have insisted, for now, that no hidden hand was at work, but the stillness of so many runways carries its own quiet question about how much of our
FAA Orders Nationwide Ground Stop at US Airports Over Communications Outage
Nearly 7,000 flights were delayed or canceled, disrupting travelers nationwide, with passengers stranded at airports and uncertain about checked luggage and connections.
Every flight has been accounted for.
Mark
Start with the basics. What actually happened on Friday?
Mimi
The FAA stopped all departures nationwide on Nov. 13, citing a communications problem that Transportation Secretary Duffy said affected all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. Planes already flying weren't ordered down.
Mark
And the cause?
Luke
Be careful there. Officials say telecommunication or equipment outage, and frequency issues. That's a description of the symptom. The root cause hasn't been stated.
Mimi
Right. Homeland Security Secretary Mullin said there was no prior indication, as of yet, of a nefarious attack. That's a qualified statement.
Mark
So it could still change?
Luke
It's an early read, not a conclusion. The wording 'as of right now' matters.
Mark
What about the human side?
Mimi
At Newark, passengers huddled at gates figuring out checked luggage, and even employees were learning about the stop from travelers. No loudspeaker announcement nearly an hour in.
Mark
Nearly 7,000 flights delayed or canceled. How solid is that?
Luke
It's Reuters' figure, and it lumps delays and cancellations together. The FAA hasn't published its own count.
Mark
How long will this last?
Mimi
The advisory runs to 11:30 p.m. ET, but flights stay grounded until further notice, so that's not a promise.
Luke
And any comparison to January 2023 is just a reference point. Nothing in the reporting says this outage has the same cause.
O Pulso
- A nationwide order told every departing aircraft to stay on the ground, and no one could say when that would change.
- Nearly 7,000 flights were delayed or canceled, leaving travelers stranded at gates and calling airlines for answers.
- Officials are working to rule out a cyberattack while FAA technicians hunt for the source of the frequency and communications failure.
- Planes already in the air are being handled case by case, and arriving flights will follow a priority list as the system reopens.
- With no restoration estimate, the situation hangs open, and everyone is waiting on the FAA's next update and root-cause findings.
On a Friday afternoon in mid-November, the Federal Aviation Administration brought the nation's departing flights to a halt, grounding aircraft across America while a telecommunications failure touching the air traffic control network was investigated. Travelers at airports from Newark to Los Angeles were left waiting, unsure of their luggage and connections, in a moment that recalls how fragile the invisible wires of modern travel can be. Officials have insisted, for now, that no hidden hand was at work, but the stillness of so many runways carries its own quiet question about how much of our movement rests on systems we rarely think about until they fall silent.
At Newark Liberty International Airport on Friday afternoon, nearly an hour passed after the Federal Aviation Administration halted departures across the country, and still no announcement came over the loudspeaker. A passenger had told an employee it was a nationwide ground stop, and the reply was simply, 'What?' Around the gates, travelers gathered in clusters, phones pressed to their ears, trying to decide what to do about checked bags.
The order told departing aircraft to remain on the ground until further notice. The FAA pointed to a problem with frequencies across the National Airspace System, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said a communication failure had affected all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was no sign so far of a malicious attack, and that all flights were accounted for.
The effects spread quickly. Reuters counted nearly 7,000 flights delayed or canceled, though the FAA had not released its own figures. In Los Angeles and Burbank, airports learned only that some kind of equipment problem had occurred, and staff warned passengers that the delays could grow worse as the afternoon wore on.
The FAA's advisory runs until 11:30 p.m. Eastern, but that deadline does not promise that flights will resume. This is not the first time such a stop has happened. In January 2023, a database failure on the Notice to Air Missions system grounded flights for nearly two hours, and investigators later found contractors had accidentally deleted files. For now, travelers are being told to check their airlines, and everyone is watching for two answers: when the skies will reopen, and what caused them to close.
At Newark Liberty International Airport on Friday afternoon, almost an hour after the Federal Aviation Administration halted departures across the country, there had still been no announcement over the loudspeaker. One airport employee, walking past a coworker, said a passenger had just told them it was a nationwide ground stop. 'What?' was the reply. Around the gates, travelers huddled in groups, many on the phone, trying to work out what to do about their checked luggage.
The order, issued Nov. 13, told all departing aircraft to stay on the ground until further notice. The FAA cited extraordinary circumstances and safety concerns tied to an air-traffic control problem, specifically frequency issues across the National Airspace System. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the stop followed a communication problem affecting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. 'FAA technicians are investigating the issue,' he wrote on X, promising updates as they came. Flightradar24 reported that the order followed an equipment outage.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin, speaking to reporters outside the White House, described a 'telecommunication outage throughout FAA.' He said there was no prior indication, as of yet, that it was a nefarious attack, and called it just a telecommunication outage for now. He added that all flights were accounted for and that a priority list would govern how planes are brought into airports as they begin arriving.
Just after 5 p.m. ET, the FAA posted that all flights had been halted out of an abundance of caution during a temporary telecommunications outage, and that every flight was accounted for. Aircraft already airborne were not ordered to land immediately, and international flights bound for the United States would be handled case by case.
The scale of the disruption was substantial. Reuters reported nearly 7,000 flights delayed or canceled, though no breakdown between delays and cancellations was available, and the FAA had not released its own count of affected flights or passengers. Los Angeles International Airport confirmed to the USA TODAY Network that all departures were halted as of about 1:45 p.m. Pacific. Mike Christensen, public information officer at Hollywood Burbank Airport, said the airport received notice shortly before 1 p.m. and knew only that it was due to some kind of equipment outage. He warned that there would be delays, and that even later in the afternoon things could get backed up, and advised passengers to contact their airlines. At Newark, a Flight 124 to Athens announced at 4:53 p.m. ET that all groups could board, though it was unclear whether the plane could depart.
The FAA advisory lists the ground stop as effective from 3:54 p.m. ET until 11:30 p.m. ET, but because aircraft are told to stay grounded until further notice, that expiration time does not guarantee flights resume by then. The agency has offered no estimate for a return to normal operations. A ground stop is the most restrictive traffic management tool, used when controllers cannot safely handle aircraft in an airspace or at an airport, and it does not by itself cancel flights. Travelers are being told to check airline websites and apps before heading out.
This is not the first such stop. On Jan. 11, 2023, the FAA halted departures nationwide when its Notice to Air Missions system failed. Preliminary findings showed contractors had accidentally deleted files while trying to synchronize the primary database with a backup. That stop lasted nearly two hours, with disruptions through the day, and investigators found no evidence of a cyberattack. Afterward, then-acting administrator Billy Nolen declined to guarantee the system would never fail again; the FAA added a one-hour delay between database updates. In September 2025, Administrator Bryan Bedford said a brand-new NOTAM service had been built, calling it resilient and scalable.
What to watch now is when the stop is lifted, since no restoration time has been given, and what the FAA ultimately identifies as the cause of the outage.
Citações Notáveis
There is no prior indication as of yet that this was nefarious attack against us. It's just a telecommunication outage as of right now.— Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin
FAA technicians are investigating the issue.— Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, on X
Quer a matéria completa?
Leia o original em Reno Gazette-Journal ↗