FAA grounds all US flights, citing “extraordinary circumstances”

The United States Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has ordered a nationwide ground stop at all airports “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety,” Sky News reports.

The order, which took effect at 3:54pm ET on Friday, means flights already in the air may land, but aircraft still on the ground cannot take off.

“All departing traffic should remain ground stopped until further notice,” the FAA said in an advisory, adding that inbound international flights would be managed on a case-by-case basis.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said a communications issue was affecting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers, which handle flights across the country.

Shortly before the announcement, both major Chicago airports were placed under a ground stop due to an equipment outage.

FAA technicians are investigating the problem.

It is only the second nationwide ground stop of all departures since the September 11, 2001 attacks. The last one was in January 2023, when a pilot notification system failed.