FAA orders nationwide ground stop on all US flights

The FAA said at about 6pm Eastern (11pm UK time) that departures would resume as en route facilities recover, "through coordination with the air traffic control system", CNBC reported. CNBC's article still described the stop as in place "until further notice" and did not report that it had been lifted.

CNBC, citing Cirium, said about 600 flights had been diverted, 104 of them to other airports, and that 11,000 flights were scheduled to leave US airports after 4pm Eastern. It said some outbound international flights had left the US, including a Lufthansa flight from Boston to Frankfurt and an ITA Airways flight from Boston to Rome, citing Flightradar24.

More than 10,500 flights had been delayed and more than 2,500 cancelled as of 6.30pm Eastern, Fox Weather reported.

JAM has not seen confirmation from the FAA or Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy that the nationwide stop has been lifted.

Sources: CNBC, Fox Weather.

AirSpace Intel, the contractor behind the SMART air traffic control system that uses artificial intelligence, said the ground stop is not based on or a result of that system, ABC7 reported at about 6.30pm Eastern (11.30pm UK time).

Clash Report said officials had been asked about a possible link to an AI air traffic control system and that no link had been confirmed. The FAA has described the problem as a "temporary telecommunications outage".

ABC7's last update, at about 6.38pm Eastern, still reported no restart time. A stranded traveller told ABC7 her airline said there might not be another flight until Monday. JAM has not seen confirmation from the FAA or Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy that the stop has been lifted.

Sources: ABC7, Clash Report.

More than 10,400 flights had been delayed and more than 2,100 cancelled as of 6.20pm Eastern (11.20pm UK time), Fox Weather reported. Fox Weather described it as the second-longest nationwide ground stop in US history, after the one that followed the 11 September 2001 attacks. The previous nationwide stop, in January 2023, lasted about 90 minutes.

Fox Weather said no updated timeline for lifting the stop had been given, and that about 3,000 flights were in the air when the order was issued. ABC7's last update, at about 6.15pm Eastern, also said there was no restart time.

JAM has not seen confirmation from the FAA or Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy that the stop has been lifted.

Sources: Fox Weather, ABC7.

FlightAware listed 1,913 cancelled flights and 10,494 delayed flights across the US as of 6.04pm Eastern (11.04pm UK time), ABC7 reported. The page said the figures were expected to rise overnight.

ABC7's latest entry, at about 5.55pm Eastern, said there was no timeline for restarting flights. It also reported confusion and stranded passengers at Raleigh-Durham airport.

JAM has not seen confirmation from the FAA or Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy that the stop has been lifted.

Source: ABC7 live updates.

More than 10,300 flights had been delayed and more than 1,300 cancelled as of 5.45pm Eastern (10.45pm UK time), Fox Weather reported in an update at 5.54pm Eastern. Earlier counts had put delays and cancellations combined at about 7,800.

Fox Weather said the FAA stated that "out of an abundance of caution all flights have been halted". It reported no timeline for lifting the stop.

American Airlines said at 5.27pm Eastern that it expected disruption to its schedule for the rest of the day, according to Clash Report. Clash Report's latest reference, at 5.40pm Eastern, was that the FAA had not announced when the stop would end.

JAM has not seen confirmation from the FAA or Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy that the stop has been lifted.

Sources: Fox Weather, Clash Report.

JAM has obtained a one-minute audio clip that appears to capture air traffic control radio during the ground stop. JAM has not independently verified where or when it was recorded.

In the clip, a voice that appears to be a controller tells pilots there is a national ground stop and that there will be no more departures until further notice. The voice says a notice that had just printed out cites equipment, gives no update time and says more information will follow. A speaker is also heard referring to Microsoft and Outlook outages.

ABC News posted a 4 minute 51 second video report on X at 9.46pm UK time (4.46pm Eastern). Its post said the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a nationwide ground stop on Friday for all airlines "due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety".

Watch the report: ABC News on X.

The FAA also described the problem as a "temporary telecommunications outage", Fox Weather reported in an update at 5.30pm Eastern (10.30pm UK time).

As of that update, Fox Weather said the ground stop was still in effect, with no updated timeline for lifting it. The FAA's advisory had listed an estimated end of 11pm Eastern, but departures were to stay grounded "until further notice".

JAM has not seen an FAA or Transportation Department statement that the stop has been lifted. ABC News (5.14pm Eastern) also described it as a developing story and did not report a lift.

Sources: Fox Weather, ABC News.

FlightAware listed 7,884 delayed flights and 380 cancellations within, into or out of the US as of about 5.10pm Eastern (10.10pm UK time), Clash Report reported.

Fox Weather reported that some flights were allowed to land about an hour after the stop began. Inbound international flights are being handled case by case.

As of 5.10pm Eastern, the FAA had not announced when the nationwide stop would end, according to Clash Report, and neither Clash Report nor Fox Weather reported that it had been lifted. Fox Weather's last update was at 5.07pm Eastern.

Sources: Clash Report, Fox Weather.

More than 7,800 flights had been delayed or cancelled as of 4.45pm Eastern (9.45pm UK time), Fox Weather reported. About 3,000 flights were in the air when the order was issued, it said.

Atlanta's airport said departures were temporarily suspended and told travellers to check with their airlines, according to Fox Weather.

American Airlines said the FAA was working to fix a technical problem affecting telecommunications at many facilities, Clash Report reported. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said earlier that FAA technicians were investigating a communication issue affecting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers.

The latest reports JAM has seen, from around 4.45pm Eastern, give no official confirmation that the stop has been lifted, and the FAA has not said when flights will resume.

Sources: Fox Weather, Clash Report.