FAA orders all flights grounded nationwide due to ‘safety,’ ‘extraordinary circumstances’

The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all flights nationwide on Friday until further notice, due to what Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said were problems at almost two dozen regional air traffic control centers.The ground stop included O’Hare International and Midway International in Chicago. The FAA said the stop was ordered “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.” Such an alert is rare, according to multiple reports.

The Details

Duffy said the communications issue affected 22 regional air traffic control centers that direct planes en route between airports nationwide, The Associated Press reported. 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, 2011 terrorist attacks. The government has been working to overhaul the outdated technology that air traffic controllers rely on since Congress approved $12.5 bill