A nationwide ground stop that halted departing flights across the United States has been lifted, according to statements from federal officials. However, authorities warn that travel chaos will take time to unwind and ongoing delays are expected.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued the rare nationwide order following an air traffic control communications issue, marking the largest U.S. ground stop since the aftermath of September 11, 2001. The telecommunications outage prompted widespread cancellations and suspensions affecting domestic departures, international flights entering U.S. airspace, and cross-border routes operated by carriers such as Air Canada and JetBlue.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy blamed the disruption on aged technology and overloaded routers, warning Congress that similar incidents could occur unless lawmakers provide funding to upgrade the systems. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirmed there is zero evidence indicating the incident was a cyberattack or a security threat.
While flights are now permitted to take off again, passengers remain stranded at various airports, and airlines anticipate that schedule normalization will be a slow process.
