FAA halts aircraft takeoffs nationwide: Update

Updates with details throughout

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) on Friday ordered a nationwide halt to all aircraft departures because of telecommunication issues that are still being investigated.

The FAA, in an advisory at 3:54 pm ET, ordered all departing aircraft to be "ground stopped" until further notice because of "extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety". Inbound international flights will be managed on a case-by-case basis, the advisory said.

The FAA last ordered a national ground stop in 2023, and before then, after the terrorist attacks on 11 September 2001.

US homeland security director Markwayne Mullin said airplanes were still landing safely and were able to communicate with air traffic controllers, but said that a "telecommunications outage" was affecting the clarity of communications. It remains too early to tell how long the ground stop will remain in place, but travelers should prepare for delays, Mullin said.

"This isn't going to just be resolved and turned around within the hour," Mullin told reporters at the White House. "This is going to take some time."

Federal officials are investigating whether the rollout of a new air traffic control tool that relies on artificial intelligence could have contributed to the issue, Mullin said, but officials have yet to determine the cause of the telecommunications outgage.

Earlier, US transportation secretary Sean Duffy said in a social media post that the nationwide ground stop was issued "following a communications issue impacting Air Route Traffic Control Centers". FAA technicians are investigating the issue, he said.

By Chris Knight