FAA Ground Stop: US Flights Halted for Five Hours

The FAA ground stop ordered on Friday afternoon froze departures at airports across the United States for about five hours. The Federal Aviation Administration issued the order at 3:54 pm Eastern Time, citing extraordinary circumstances and reasons for safety. In Pakistan, the stop began at 1:54 am on Saturday, while most of the country slept.

The order stayed in place through the American afternoon. It was lifted at 8:15 pm Eastern Time, which was 6:15 am on Saturday in Pakistan. Departures then resumed, but the disruption continued well beyond the order itself.

While the order lasted, departures stayed on the ground at airports nationwide. The halt applied to the whole country at the same time. That breadth is what made it so disruptive for airlines and passengers alike.

A nationwide FAA ground stop is a rare and serious step. It freezes the whole network at once, not just one airport or one region. Friday's order did exactly that, holding departures across the country together.

What happened during the FAA ground stop

The trigger was a telecommunications outage that hit the Air Route Traffic Control Centers. These centers manage aircraft travelling between airports, on the long stretches of a journey. All 22 centers were affected by the failure.

These centers hand aircraft from one team of controllers to the next as flights cross the country. When their shared systems fail, that handover cannot be done safely. Holding departures on the ground stops more aircraft joining the problem.

Flights already in the air were allowed to continue and land at their destinations. International flights bound for the United States were handled case by case. Flights within Alaska and Hawaii were not affected, the AP reported.

Around 3,000 to 3,500 aircraft were airborne when the order came down. Officials said every flight was accounted for. All of those aircraft landed safely, and no passenger was put in danger.

The FAA ground stop was the longest nationwide halt of its kind in 25 years. It was the first since January 2023, when a computer system failure inside the agency stopped flights. It was also only the second since the September 11, 2001 attacks.

Why the FAA ground stop happened

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the problem began with switches and routers. The equipment became overloaded with data and started producing inconsistent data. Controllers faced unstable information, and the agency grounded departures out of caution.

Duffy blamed ageing infrastructure for the FAA ground stop. He said the system still runs on old analog TDM telecom technology, with old hardware at its core. Radar and communication systems at the centers and at TRACON facilities showed instability during the outage.

TRACON facilities handle flights arriving at and leaving busy airports. There was no total loss of communications or radar at any point. Even so, Duffy said the failure showed why the system needs a comprehensive overhaul, and he called on Congress to fund one.

How many flights were hit

FlightAware counted nearly 7,000 flights delayed or cancelled during the disruption. FlightRadar24 reported an even heavier toll. It counted more than 4,700 cancellations and 10,000 delays on Friday alone.

The FAA ground stop also damaged the weekend schedule. FlightRadar24 said about 700 more cancellations were already listed for Saturday. Aircraft and crews were left scattered far from where the schedules needed them.

That is why the recovery takes longer than the outage itself. Airlines need time to reposition planes and crews before normal schedules return. Travellers booked on US routes in the coming days may still feel the effects.

Was it an attack?

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was no indication the outage was an attack. He said no one was ever in any danger during the incident. CNN, citing law enforcement officials, reported that an initial review suggested a cyberattack was unlikely.

Bloomberg reported that the FBI was examining whether a problem arose during a software update. That possibility has not been announced as the cause of the FAA ground stop. The confirmed explanation remains the overloaded switches and routers described by Duffy.

Mullin's comments addressed the question many people were asking as the news spread. A nationwide halt naturally raises fears of something deliberate. Officials said the evidence pointed to failing equipment, not an attacker.

The timing fuelled speculation online, because Microsoft 365 suffered a major outage in the same period. Microsoft said there was no indication the FAA ground stop was related to its services. The two failures, on the available evidence, were separate incidents.

FAA ground stop: common questions

What is an FAA ground stop?

It is an order that holds departing aircraft on the ground within a defined area. Friday's order was nationwide, so it covered departures across the United States. Flights already airborne were allowed to land as normal.

Why were US flights grounded on Friday?

A telecommunications outage hit the centers that manage flights between airports. Overloaded switches and routers produced inconsistent data for controllers. The FAA halted departures until the systems were stable again.

How long did the FAA ground stop last?

About five hours. It ran from 3:54 pm to 8:15 pm Eastern Time on Friday. In Pakistan, it lasted from 1:54 am to 6:15 am on Saturday.

Was the FAA ground stop a cyberattack?

There is no indication of an attack. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was no indication the outage was an attack. An initial review reported by CNN suggested a cyberattack was unlikely.

How many flights did the FAA ground stop affect?

FlightAware counted nearly 7,000 flights delayed or cancelled. FlightRadar24 counted over 4,700 cancellations and 10,000 delays on Friday. It had about 700 more cancellations listed for Saturday.

When will US flight schedules return to normal?

Not straight away. Airlines need time to move aircraft and crews back into position. Passengers should check their booking with the airline before travelling to the airport.