The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a nationwide ground stop for all departing flights across the United States due to extraordinary circumstances and safety reasons, according to NBC News.
The sudden directive was issued at 3:54 p.m. ET, halting departing traffic until further notice while inbound international flights were managed on a case-by-case basis. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated that the ground stop stemmed from a telecommunications outage affecting high-altitude control centers, adding that there was no indication of anything nefarious. President Donald Trump was briefed on the developing situation.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy noted that FAA technicians were actively investigating the issue. Aviation safety experts emphasized that while airborne flights continued safely and pilots maintained redundant communication channels, the grounding quickly created significant logistical challenges and crowding at major facilities like Chicago O'Hare International Airport and Reagan Washington National Airport.
