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OAKLAND, Calif. - The Federal Aviation Administration has implemented a nationwide ground stop at multiple U.S. airports, citing communications issues.
In a post on X, the FAA stated there was a "temporary telecommunications outage," and that all flights have been halted out of an abundance of caution.
"There has been a temporary telecommunications outage — out of an abundance of caution, all flights have been halted. Every flight has been accounted for and international flights will be handled on a case-by-case basis."
An earlier advisory posted on the FAA website stated:
"Due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety. Attention all aircraft operators, by order of the Federal Aviation Command Center, all airports are ground stopped. All departing traffic should remain ground stopped until further notice. Inbound international flights will be managed on a case-by-case basis."
The nature of the communication issues is currently unknown. It is unclear when flights might resume.
Reassurances
Big picture view:
Markwayne Mullin, the Secretary of Homeland Security, speaking at a press conference Friday afternoon, said there was no indication yet of an attack against the United States and that Americans have no reason to be afraid.
"It's a telecommunication outage. I'm not going to get ahead of FAA. That's their lane to talk about. We were wanting to assure all the American people this isn't a safety (threat) to the American people or another 9/11. I think that's what a lot of people are trying to make that comparison to, and that's not the case," Mullin said.
Mullin added that there isn't "any reason" to connect the communications issue to the ongoing Microsoft outage.
SFO
Local perspective:
Doug Yakel, spokesperson for San Francisco International Airport, said around 3 p.m. Friday afternoon that the FAA had given signs that some flights would be able to depart soon.
"It appears the FAA is going incrementally, going kind of from reader center to radar center, really confirming the effectiveness of the communications before starting to release aircraft. It looks like flights to the Pacific are OK to go, so here at SFO that involves flights to Asia and Hawaii, we're starting to see those flights being released," Yakel said. "In terms of other domestic flights — eastbound — they have yet to get any type of clearance. I think it's still subject to this process of going one location to another, confirming that communications are suitable to resume flying."
Yakel said he couldn't recall a situation of a similar magnitude, and called the ground stop "unprecedented."
He added that flight delays and cancellations are a possibility in the coming days, as airline schedules that have been interrupted by the ground stop will take some time to readjust.
Mark Neveau, a former senior executive with the Federal Emergency Management Agency, said the ground stop is concerning but there are some encouraging signs.
"What they've not done is they haven't said to the aircraft en route to a location to change that direction and land at the closest airport. they're keeping them moving to their original destination but it was, as of a few minutes ago, no more take-offs," Neveau told KTVU. "That's kind of a good/bad message if you will: concern because we're having to do it, but good that you can have those planes continue on to their original destination."
National spotlight
Big picture view:
United States Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy on Friday afternoon posted on X (formerly Twitter):
"The FAA issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them."
The National Airspace System Status as of 1:15 Friday afternoon, listed ground stops at airports in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, and San Diego, among others.
The federal government has for years been working toward updating the technology that air traffic controllers rely on. Congress in 2025 approved $12.5 billion for the project, and that money has already gone toward replacing copper wiring with fiber optic lines, and replacing aging radio systems at numerous airports.
Duffy has said that completing the work will cost another $30 billion, and the White House has been lobbying Congress to approve those funds.
"We've been talking about, as a government and as a country, replacing that system for quite some time. There's concern that as that system starts to age, it won't keep up with what technology is today," Neveau said. "The challenge becomes, number one, the amount of money it's going to take to do that, and certainly the challenge of transitioning from an old system to a new system, and making sure it's done seamlessly."
Other instances
Dig deeper:
The FAA has issued two ground stops in the last 25 years.
Most recently on Jan. 11, 2023, when domestic departures nationwide were temporarily halted because of a failure involving the FAA's Notice to Air Missions system, which provides pilots with critical safety information. The ground stop was issued at 7:15 a.m. Eastern time and was lifted two hours later.
In that instance, more than 10,000 flights were delayed and more than 1,000 flights were canceled.
That incident was the first nationwide ground stop of its kind since the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.
This is developing, check back for updates.
The Source: Information for this story was gathered from the FAA and a spokesperson for San Francisco International Airport.