The Latest: FAA grounds all flights nationwide due to communications problems

The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all flights nationwide Friday afternoon due to communications problems at regional air traffic control centers, an FAA notice said.

The ground stop was being imposed “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety,” according to the notice.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said a communications issue was affecting the regional air traffic control centers that direct planes between airports nationwide. He said FAA technicians are investigating.

This is the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023 when a key FAA computer system malfunctioned. Before that the last time had been after the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.

Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said there was no indication yet that “this was a nefarious attack against us. It’s just a telecommunications outage.”

Here is the latest:

FAA says flights halted ‘out of an abundance of caution’

The federal agency said on social media that there has been a temporary telecommunications outage.

All flights have been accounted for and international flights will be “handled on a case by case basis,” the agency said.

Homeland Security secretary says currently no indication of an attack

“There was no indication as of yet this was a nefarious attack against us,” said U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin.

All flights in the air are accounted for, he said during a news conference, adding that the public has no reason to be afraid.

The FAA’s ground stop order runs through at least 11 p.m. ET Friday.

Passengers on boarded plane returned to gate

Passengers on an American Airlines flight from Wichita to Chicago on Friday afternoon received text messages explaining the problem as “air traffic conditions in Chicago.”

The plane sat on the runway for about an hour before the captain announced the air traffic problem seemed to be nationwide, and the plane would return to the gate.

Passengers deboarded and the airline said no one would be rebooked for at least an hour.

Aviation safety expert says issue appears similar to September regional outage

Former United Airlines pilot and aviation expert Steve Arroyo said the problem appeared similar to a regional air traffic control communication outage in September that snarled hundreds of flights across the Northeast, except this time on a nationwide scale.

Arroyo said it could be linked to the outdated technology used by air traffic controllers.

“If you don’t have that ability, whether it’s because the old wires that they have are just run down or for whatever reason, you’ve got to stop airplanes on the ground,” said Arroyo. “And not put them in the air where you’re going to risk not being able to communicate with them.”

First nationwide ground stop since January 2023

A key FAA computer system malfunctioned, temporarily grounding all flights nationwide and touched off a cascading air traffic jam.

Before that the last time had been after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Flights halted at airports across US due to air traffic control communications problems, FAA says

The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all flights nationwide Friday afternoon because of communications problems at regional air traffic control centers.