• Ground stop: All flights in the United States are grounded until further notice, “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety,” the Federal Aviation Administration said.
• Cause not yet known: The reason for the ground stop was not immediately clear, but an FAA spokesperson said there is a communications problem impacting Air Route Traffic Control Centers, which handle flights going across the country. Preliminary reports indicate this is not a cyberattack , according to two law enforcement officials.
• Rare instance: The last time there was a nationwide ground stop was in January 2023, when a pilot notification system went down. Prior to that, the last nationwide ground stop was issued after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
Some parts of the national airspace went to “ATC Zero” on Friday, a term that means no air traffic control services can be provided.
“Approach is ATC Zero, and Chicago Center is close to being ATC Zero as well for equipment,” a controller warned pilots approaching Chicago in audio captured by the site ATC.com . “We lost all of the frequencies and all of the automation for the handoff and strips and stuff.”
Air traffic controllers use radio frequencies to communicate and paper strips – or the electronic upgraded versions of them – to keep track of planes.
Flights can continue to fly in airspace without air traffic control operating under visual flight rules, but most planes are going to be rerouted, prevented from taking off or grounded.
Preliminary reports indicate this is not a cyberattack, according to two law enforcement officials.
FBI personnel across the country are continuing to monitor the situation, according to another law enforcement source.
The FAA issued the ground stop “following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers,” Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said in a social media post. “FAA technicians are investigating the issue.”
The last time there was a nationwide ground stop was in January 2023, when a pilot notification system went down.
Prior to that, the last nationwide ground stop was issued after the September 11, 2001, attacks.
All flights in the United States are grounded until further notice, “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement.
The cause of the ground stop was not immediately clear, but an FAA spokesperson says there is a communications problem impacting Air Route Traffic Control Centers, which handle flights going across the country.
