FAA ground stop lifted: Why were US flights grounded, and what’s next?
Also reported by BBC US, France24, CBS News, The Hill, BBC World, Axios, Guardian World, Ars Technica, Newsweek, PBS NewsHour, ABC News
Summary
The FAA lifted a nationwide ground stop on Friday evening after a telecommunications outage disrupted air traffic control centers. More than 4,700 flights were cancelled and 10,000 delayed, and airlines faced a potentially days-long effort to restore normal schedules.Key Facts
- The FAA issued the ground stop at 3:54 p.m. Eastern Time because of a telecommunications outage affecting air route traffic control centers.
- The ground stop temporarily kept departing aircraft on the ground while aircraft already in the air could continue to their destinations.
- The FAA lifted the order on Friday evening, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said airspace reopened at 8:15 p.m. Eastern Time.
- Duffy warned that flights would resume gradually and depend on the availability of pilots and flight attendants.
- More than 4,700 flights were cancelled and 10,000 were delayed on Friday.
- Another 700 flights had already been cancelled for Saturday.
- By 7:05 p.m. Eastern Time, 827 flights had been diverted; 670 returned to their departure airports and 157 went elsewhere.
- International flights were handled case by case during the ground stop, and some were allowed to depart.
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