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The FAA grounded departing flights nationwide and later lifted the order Friday evening.

The FAA said communication problems at air traffic control centers led it to halt departures for safety reasons while technicians investigated. The agency later lifted the stop, but flight disruptions continued.

What the reports agree on

  • The FAA ordered a nationwide ground stop for departing flights. Newsweek, The Hill, PBS NewsHour, ABC News and 4 more
  • The stop followed communication or telecommunications problems affecting air traffic control centers. Newsweek, The Hill, PBS NewsHour, ABC News and 4 more
  • FAA technicians investigated the problem. Newsweek, The Hill, PBS NewsHour, ABC News and 4 more
  • The FAA lifted the ground stop Friday evening. Axios, CBS News, The Hill, France24 and 3 more

Where reports differ

  • FlightAware reported about 7,000 delayed or canceled flights. Al Jazeera
  • FlightAware reported 10,543 delays and 3,580 cancellations within, into, or out of the United States. Guardian World
  • FlightAware recorded more than 8,500 delayed flights and nearly 8,000 cancellations. BBC US
  • FlightAware reported more than 10,000 domestic delays and 4,000 cancellations by 7:15 p.m. ET. Axios

Reported by one outlet

  • Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said U.S. airspace reopened at 8:15 p.m. Eastern Time. The Hill
  • The FAA said inbound international flights would be handled case by case. Newsweek
  • The FBI was investigating whether a faulty software update caused the problems. Axios
  • The FAA grounded flights departing within the United States at 15:54 Eastern time and reopened the skies at 20:15. BBC US

The original reports

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