The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday issued a rare nationwide ground stop on all departing flights due to “extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.”
“The @FAAnews issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers,” U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said in a social media post. “FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them.”
The ground stop was posted to the FAA’s National Airspace System Status website.
“By order of the Federal Aviation Command Center all airports are ground stopped. All departing traffic should remain ground stopped until further notice. Inbound international flights will be managed on a case by case basis,” the Air Traffic Control System Command Center said in its alert.
Shortly before the FAA ordered the nationwide ground stop, both major Chicago airports, O’Hare International and Midway International, were issued a ground stop because of an equipment outage.
This is a developing story. It will be updated.
