FAA lifts hourslong ground stop that halted all flights around US

The Federal Aviation Administration lifted an hourslong, nationwide ground stop caused by communications problems, allowing departures around the country to resume.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy told reporters during a press conference at the White House that air space reopened at 6:15 p.m. MST.

The stop was originally issued Friday afternoon after a communications issue affected the 22 regional centers that direct planes between airports nationwide, according to Duffy. He noted there were 3,500 airplanes in the air at the time.

Earlier Friday, the agency had stopped departures at Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway international airports because of an equipment outage. Before the nationwide order, the FAA reported equipment-related departure delays at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport and other major airports.

Sky Harbor officials confirmed Friday that the nationwide ground stop has hit the airport and couldn’t say when flights in and out of Phoenix would resume.

“We strongly recommend passengers and people picking up loved ones confirm their flight status with their airline before heading to the airport to be apprised of updates impacting their flights,” Gregory Roybal, the airport’s public information manager, told KTAR News 92.3 FM.

No flights had taken off from Sky Harbor since about 1:53 p.m. As of midafternoon Friday, about 180 departures were delayed and eight had been canceled, according to the airport’s flight board. More than 100 of those flights had been pushed back by an hour or more, and some by as much as five hours.

The ground stop has also thrown a wrench into college football travel plans across the country, impacting the game between No. 2 Utah and No. 23 Arizona in Tucson as well as Arizona State’s trip to Orlando to face University of Central Florida. Arizona Sports‘ John Gambadoro reported the Sun Devils will not fly out until at least Saturday morning, and the team is heading back to campus to rest at home. Currently, the Sun Devils’ game is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. MST and Arizona’s is set take place at 5:30 p.m.

Planes already in the air continued to land in Phoenix.

“You can land. You just can’t take off,” a commercial airline pilot who goes by “Captain Dan” told KTAR News 92.3 FM’s Outspoken with Bruce & Gaydos.

The pilot said he called the automated information line at Mesa’s Falcon Field and heard a recording saying there were no takeoffs because of a national ground stop.

“I’ve never heard that before,” he said.

The regional centers affected by the outage handle planes cruising above 18,000 feet, the pilot said. The airspace over Phoenix is controlled by the center in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Approach controllers and the Sky Harbor tower handle planes as they descend and land.

“You’ve got to be able to communicate,” he said, rating his concern a 7 out of 10.

It is the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023, when a key FAA computer system malfunctioned.

Before that, the last one came after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin told reporters at the White House that there was no indication yet that “this was a nefarious attack against us. It’s just a telecommunications outage.”

The government has been working to replace the outdated technology air traffic controllers rely on since Congress approved $12.5 billion for the project last year. Crews have replaced miles of old copper wire with fiber optic lines and are gradually swapping out old radio systems at airports across the country. Duffy has said another $30 billion will be needed to finish the work, and the White House has begun lobbying Congress for it.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

This is a developing story.

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