Live updates: Flights halted at airports across U.S. due to unspecified 'extraordinary circumstances,' FAA says

International flights departing JFK Airport

While flights departing domestically are largely impacted, some flights leaving the U.S. from John F. Kennedy International Airport are being allowed to depart, according to FlightAware. 

The website says departure delays are averaging 90 minutes. 

Ground stop strands teams and throws the sports weekend into chaos

The Federal Aviation Administration's decision to ground all flights nationwide Friday threw the sports world into chaos, leaving NBA, NHL and college teams stranded as they tried to reach their destinations, and NFL teams were left to wonder whether the issue would be resolved in time for them to travel to their games this weekend.

Read the full story here.

Communications problems don't appear linked to new FAA computer system

The communications problems that led to the nationwide halt to flights don’t appear to be linked to the FAA’s new AI-powered system the agency is rolling out to help predict problems in the sky.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there’s no indication yet that the problems are linked to the new computer system or any kind of terrorist attack.

The FAA’s SMART system is based in a single location near Washington, D.C., where a team of experts analyzes flight schedules, weather forecasts and hundreds of other streams of data. Then that office sends recommendations to the FAA’s command center that relays them to controllers across the country for consideration.

The company that designed the system, ASI, said “the current ground stop is not based on or a result of the SMART system, any product of ASI or our integration with FAA and ATC.”

What happened during the last nationwide grounding of flights?

The last time the FAA grounded all departure flights happened in January 2024 when a computer system malfunctioned, touching off a cascading air traffic jam.

The system, Notice to Air Missions, is used to alert pilots of conditions on their flight path that include runway and taxiway changes. A pilot needs to review the notice before they can legally take off. 

With wires

What is an Air Route Traffic Control Center?

According to the Secretary of Transporation Sean Duffy, the nationwide ground stop was issued after a communication problem between the FAA's Air Route Traffic Control Centers.

There are 22 in the United States and they control the flow of traffic through sectors of air across the country.

The New York Control Center is located in Ronkonkoma.

Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said it’s not yet known what caused the communications outages, but “we’re gonna find out what happened.”

He added that he’s not going to make assumptions and encouraged others to do the same.

Asked if there may be a connection to Thursday’s Microsoft outage, Mullin said officials are not ruling anything out.

Officials are dealing with midair flights on a case-by-case basis and working to help them land safely, he added.

Delays in departures impact flyers at MacArthur

Tom and Jo-Ann Davino, formerly of Setauket, inside MacArthur Airport in Ronkonkoma after their flight to Florida was delayed four hours.

The Davinos decided to book a flight for the next morning after the FAA has grounded all flights nationwide.

LAX-bound flights normal

LOS ANGELES — Planes continued to land at Los Angeles International Airport after the FAA issued its nationwide ground stop, at one point coming in regularly every two to three minutes. The news came a day before the Islanders squared off against the Anaheim Ducks in Los Angeles. 

By 2:30 p.m. local time, the landings became less frequent and no activity was observed on the runways.

Traffic around LAX, usually fairly dense, was also lighter than normal.

Aviation safety expert says issue appears similar to September regional outage

Former United Airlines pilot and aviation expert Steve Arroyo said the problem appeared similar to a regional air traffic control communication outage in September that snarled hundreds of flights across the Northeast, except this time on a nationwide scale.

Arroyo said it could be linked to the outdated technology used by air traffic controllers.

“If you don’t have that ability, whether it’s because the old wires that they have are just run down or for whatever reason, you’ve got to stop airplanes on the ground,” said Arroyo. “And not put them in the air where you’re going to risk not being able to communicate with them.”

Homeland Security: No sign of anything nefarious

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin says no indication yet of nefarious act behind FAA communications issue. 

"This was a telecommunications outage throughout FAA," Mullin said, later adding "Everybody's safe. There's no reason to be concerned about your loved ones if they're flying.” 

Delays increasing at JFK, LaGuardia airports

A large number of flights at JFK and LaGuardia airports are being delayed, according to FlightAware. 

This comes amid a halt of all departing planes across the United States. 

In a post on X, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said, "The issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them."

What is a ground stop?

When the FAA orders a ground stop, all departing planes are stuck in place on the ground. All planes in the air when the stop is called are generally allowed to continue to their destination.

Airport specific ground stops are ordered often due to weather or congestion.

Planes en route to NYC airports are continuing to fly, as seen in this image from Flightradar24.com

Flights halted at airports across U.S.

The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all flights nationwide Friday afternoon because of communications problems at regional air traffic control centers.. The FAA notice said the ground stop was being imposed “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.”  Read more here.

What we know so far about nationwide grounding of flights

WASHINGTON — The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all flights nationwide Friday afternoon because of communications problems at regional air traffic control centers.. The FAA notice said the ground stop was being imposed “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.”

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said there is a communications issue affecting the regional air traffic control centers that direct planes between airports nationwide. He said FAA technicians are investigating. This is the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023 when a key FAA computer system malfunctioned. Before that the last time had been after the Sept. 11, 2011 terrorist attacks.