The FAA ordered a nationwide pause on aircraft departures on Friday afternoon after communications problems affected multiple air traffic control centers, leaving at least 7,000 flights delayed. Delays continued to grow at major hubs including Newark, Houston and Chicago. The agency said the measure was taken for safety reasons as technicians investigate the cause.
The ground stop disrupted airline operations and travel across the country. The FAA had not said when communications would be restored or provided a timeline for resuming departures. Flights already in the air could continue under their existing flight plans, using backup procedures to maintain safe separation and land.
FAA investigates communications problems at control centers
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said after 4:15 p.m. Eastern that the pause stemmed from communications problems affecting all en route air traffic control centers. FAA technicians had begun investigating, and the agency said it would provide updates as more information became available.
The FAA described the ground stop as a response to “special circumstances” and said it was intended to protect safety. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the issue was communications-related and should not be interpreted as a threat to the public. He said public safety was not at risk, but officials had not discussed how long repairs might take.
Possible link to new SMART AI tool remains unclear
The FAA deployed a new artificial intelligence tool called SMART on Friday to assist air traffic controllers. There is no evidence confirming a connection between the tool and the communications failure. Asked whether the two were linked, Mullin said the matter was still under investigation.
With the cause of the outage unknown, whether the AI tool played any role remains unresolved. The FAA has identified communications problems affecting multiple air traffic control centers as the focus of its investigation. Further updates may clarify the extent of the disruption and plans for restoring departures.
Delays top 75 minutes at Newark and reach 90 in Chicago
FAA monitoring data showed delays building rapidly at airports across the country on Friday afternoon. Average delays exceeded 75 minutes at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey. At Houston’s George Bush Intercontinental Airport, delays were about 60 minutes and rising. At Chicago O’Hare International Airport, they reached 90 minutes and continued to increase.
An FAA notice said arriving international flights would be handled individually. United Airlines said its aircraft were temporarily unable to depart because of the nationwide ground stop, while planes already in the air would continue flying. Delta Air Lines also told passengers its flights were affected by the nationwide air traffic control pause. Both airlines said they would provide updates as the situation developed.
Retired Delta pilot Mark Stephens said aircraft could continue flying under their flight plans during the ground stop and use backup procedures when necessary. The order therefore restricted takeoffs; it did not require all aircraft already in flight to return immediately or stop operating.
Last nationwide ground stop was in January 2023
The previous nationwide flight ground stop in the United States occurred in January 2023 and lasted about 90 minutes. The one before that was on September 11, 2001. The duration of Friday’s pause remained uncertain, and the FAA had not announced when departures would fully resume.
For passengers and airlines, the immediate effects were mounting delays and uncertainty over schedules. The FAA continued to investigate the communications outage, while airport delay data and airline notices showed that the disruption had reached several major aviation hubs.