On a Friday afternoon, the Federal Aviation Administration halted every flight in the United States, a rare act that has happened only twice before in the nation's aviation history. The cause was a failure in how the country talks to itself in the sky, a breakdown of communications at regional air traffic control centers. Within four hours the halt was lifted, but for thousands of people who had already been pulled into waiting rooms, gates, and tarmacs, the stillness lingered, turning ordinary plans into questions no one could answer.
Nationwide FAA Ground Stop Strands Travelers at US Airports, Leaving Passengers in Limbo
Thousands of passengers were stranded or delayed, some missed family events, and some passengers sat on planes at gates for more than an hour.
Only international is going.
Mark
Why does this one stand out from an ordinary bad travel day?
Mimi
Because a national ground stop is rare. There have been only two before, in September 2001 and January 2023. This was the third, and it halted flights everywhere.
Mark
And the cause?
Luke
Be careful there. The FAA notice cited communications problems at regional air traffic control centers. That's the stated reason, but nothing in the reporting says what failed or why.
Mimi
Right. The four-hour stop was lifted by advisory, but the explanation is still thin.
Mark
What did it feel like for passengers?
Mimi
Mostly uncertainty. Steve Honberger sat at the gate for an hour and 40 minutes while the crew didn't seem to know much. Others got conflicting departure times, like a kiosk saying 3am while the desk had no answers.
Luke
Those are individual accounts, though. They show confusion on the ground, but they don't tell us how widespread the rebooking failures were.
Mark
What about the numbers?
Luke
FlightAware counted 10,343 delays and 1,479 cancellations. That's one tracker's tally, and it was a running figure, so it likely changed. Flightradar24 said over 1,000 aircraft were bound for the US.
Mimi
And the effects spilled into sports, with teams and possibly referees stuck before a big weekend.
Luke
Whether the games were affected is still unknown. The report says it was unclear.
O Pulso
- A nationwide ground stop froze every US flight on a Friday afternoon, and planes sat at gates while crews and passengers waited for word.
- Thousands of flights were delayed and more than a thousand cancelled, leaving travelers scrambling for rebooking with conflicting information.
- Families missed events, sports teams struggled to reach their games, and a show dog's return trip hung in the balance.
- The FAA lifted the stop after about four hours, but confusion over departures and cancellations continued at airport desks and kiosks.
On a Friday afternoon, the Federal Aviation Administration halted every flight in the United States, a rare act that has happened only twice before in the nation's aviation history. The cause was a failure in how the country talks to itself in the sky, a breakdown of communications at regional air traffic control centers. Within four hours the halt was lifted, but for thousands of people who had already been pulled into waiting rooms, gates, and tarmacs, the stillness lingered, turning ordinary plans into questions no one could answer.
Steve Honberger was strapped into a seat at New York's JFK airport with his wife and daughter, bound for Portland, Oregon, when the news came that nothing was going anywhere. The Federal Aviation Administration had grounded all flights across the country that Friday afternoon, citing communications problems at regional air traffic control centers. His plane sat at the gate for an hour and 40 minutes, and the crew, by his account, seemed unsure what was happening. In the end his family asked to get off and rebook.
Across the country, travelers arrived anyway, unsure when anything would move. Rashid Kahn, heading to Miami, joked that the date might explain it, since it was Friday the 13th. Tom Rolenaitis was trying to return a Shiba Inu show dog to Finland, and the delay was eating into a three-day trip. "We have no idea what's happening," he said. Among crews the mood varied, from quiet reassurance to a cheerful shrug, and when international passengers began boarding, applause rose at some gates.
Lifting the stop did not end the confusion. Larson Welsh's flight from Paris to Las Vegas was cancelled, then a kiosk told him he would leave at 3am, and staff at the desk knew nothing. Andy, flying to California, was cancelled with no information and no rebooking, and he was missing a family event. "It's frustrating," he said.
The scale was large: FlightAware counted 10,343 delays and 1,479 cancellations. Only two national ground stops had occurred before, after the 2001 attacks and a communications failure in 2023. Sports teams were stranded ahead of a busy weekend of games. Honberger tried to keep perspective, noting that people were sitting on the tarmac and that his family counted themselves lucky, with a hotel booked for the night. What comes next is the FAA's fuller explanation and how long the backlog takes to clear.
Steve Honberger was strapped into his seat on a plane at New York's John F Kennedy airport, with his wife and daughter, bound for home in Portland, Oregon, when the news came that nothing was going anywhere. The Federal Aviation Administration had grounded all flights across the country on Friday afternoon, and the plane stayed at the gate for an hour and 40 minutes. In his telling, the crew did not seem to know what was happening and wanted to hold off as long as possible. Eventually the family asked to get off and rebook.
The FAA issued the nationwide ground stop on Friday afternoon, citing communications problems at regional air traffic control centers, according to an agency notice. About four hours later it sent an advisory lifting the stop. By then, passengers on planes and in terminals across the country had been thrown into limbo, and some at JFK learned their plans had been cancelled only after they had boarded.
Many travelers showed up anyway, unsure when anything would move. Rashid Kahn, heading for Miami, said he had heard about the stop on the news, but his airline told him they might take off at 10 or 11pm. He said he was hopeful, then joked that it might have something to do with the date: it was Friday the 13th. Tom Rolenaitis was returning a Shiba Inu show dog named Tsuki to Finland and said the delay was cutting into a three-day trip, with the dog due back with its owner. "We have no idea what's happening," he said.
Among crews, the mood varied. A flight attendant bound for Barcelona on American Airlines, who declined to give his name, said he had been told the flight would be only slightly delayed and that incoming international flights were still being allowed to land. Another crew member on the flight said cheerfully, "Things happen. Hopefully it will all be resolved." As the day went on, international passengers began boarding and applause broke out at some gates. An airline representative noted that it was moving, but only international flights were going.
Laura, a New York resident heading to San Francisco on JetBlue, sat on the terminal floor and called the whole thing a first-world problem you can't moan about. She still hoped her flight would leave, though she said working that out was what she had to do next.
Lifting the stop did not end the confusion. Larson Welsh, traveling from Paris to Las Vegas, said his flight was cancelled, and a kiosk then told him he would leave at 3am. At the desk, he said, staff knew nothing. Another traveler, who gave his name only as Andy, said his flight to California was cancelled with no information and no rebooking, a day after a previous cancellation due to bad weather. He was now missing a family event. "It's frustrating. And I'm pissed," he said.
The scale was large. FlightAware recorded 10,343 delays within, into or out of the US and 1,479 cancellations. Flightradar24 reported more than 1,000 aircraft were bound for the US when the stop was announced. Only two national ground stops have been issued before: on 11 September 2001, after the attack on the World Trade Center, and in January 2023, after a communications failure.
The sports world was caught too. NBA, NHL and college teams were stranded as they tried to reach destinations ahead of a big weekend of games, and it was unclear whether referees, who typically fly in the day before, would arrive on time.
Honberger tried to keep perspective. People were sitting on the tarmac, he said, so his family counted themselves lucky, and they had booked a hotel for the night. What to watch now is the FAA's fuller explanation of the communications failure and how long the backlog of rebookings and weekend travel takes to clear.
Citações Notáveis
It's frustrating. And I'm pissed.— Andy, traveler at JFK whose California flight was cancelled
There are people sitting on tarmac, so we count ourselves lucky.— Steve Honberger, traveler heading to Portland, Oregon
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Leia o original em The Guardian ↗