US Lifts Nationwide Ground Stop After Major Air Traffic Outage
Over 4,700 flights were cancelled as a communications failure left passengers stranded and airlines facing days of schedule chaos.
US – (Staff Reporter/Web Desk) – US lifts nationwide flight ban on Friday after a communications failure hit air traffic control centres. The failure caused chaos at airports across the country.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began the ground stop at 3:54pm Eastern Time. It lasted more than four hours.
It was the longest nationwide shutdown since the September 11, 2001 attacks.
Airlines cancelled more than 4,700 flights and delayed 10,000 others, according to FlightRadar24. Another 700 flights were already cancelled for Saturday.
Experts say airlines may need several days to fix their schedules.
The FAA called the move a safety step. It said a short telecommunications outage had affected its work.
Planes already in the air were allowed to land safely. The FAA said every flight was accounted for.
Some planes waited on taxiways because airport gates were full. Many passengers crowded terminals from Boston to Seattle and from New York to Los Angeles.
The outage also forced flight cancellations from Canada and Europe.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was no sign of an attack. He told reporters it was only a telecommunications outage for now.
He also asked the public not to panic. Officials are checking all possible causes, including a new AI-powered air traffic control system.
The event has raised fresh worries about the ageing air traffic system. The White House has asked Congress for another $30.1 billion to upgrade airports and air traffic control.
Congress already approved $12.5 billion in July 2025 for the same purpose.
The exact cause is still unclear. Officials say the investigation is continuing.
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