The US Federal Aviation Administration ordered a nationwide ground stop on Friday 13 November, halting departures at every US airport after what it described as an equipment outage affecting air traffic control frequencies.
The order disrupts the world’s busiest aviation market at the start of a weekend, and it reaches beyond the US: the agency said inbound international flights, which include services from African cities, would be handled case by case. The stop was still in force late on Friday and its cause was under investigation.
What does the FAA ground stop order say?
The advisory was issued at 20:54 GMT by the agency’s Air Traffic Control System Command Center. “Due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety,” it said, “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 FAA advisory lists an effective period running to 04:30 GMT on Saturday, or 11.30pm on Friday in New York, though it can be lifted earlier or extended. The agency said it was halting departures because of frequency problems across the national airspace system, USA Today reported.
Aircraft already in the air were allowed to continue to their destinations and were not ordered to land. The flight tracking service Flightradar24 said flights could begin diverting as airports fill up.
What caused the outage?
Sean Duffy, the US transportation secretary, said the ground stop followed “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,” he wrote on social media, according to CBS News.
The centres handle aircraft in the cruise phase of flight, and the US has 22 of them, Flightradar24 said. Shortly before the national order, Chicago’s O’Hare and Midway airports had been stopped because of an equipment outage, CBS reported. Officials have not said what failed or why, and none of the reports reviewed attributed the outage to a deliberate act.
How many flights are affected?
Estimates vary. Flightradar24 said 4,042 flights bound for US airports were airborne when the order was issued; CBS News, citing the same service, put the number at about 3,100. There were at least 8,000 delays and 400 cancellations by Friday afternoon US time, CBS said, citing the tracking site FlightAware. USA Today, citing Reuters, reported that nearly 7,000 flights had been delayed or cancelled.
The totals will rise the longer the ground stop lasts, because aircraft and crews that are out of position disrupt later flights even after departures resume.
What does it mean for flights between Africa and the US?
The advisory does not close US airspace to arrivals from abroad, but “case by case” handling means services that have not yet departed may be held at their origin. Carriers including EgyptAir, Ethiopian Airlines, Royal Air Maroc and Kenya Airways operate scheduled flights to US cities, as do US airlines serving west and southern Africa. None of the reports reviewed mentioned an African route, and no statements from African carriers had been seen by late Friday.
Passengers booked to or through the US this weekend should check with their airline before travelling. It is the second large systems failure to disrupt services this week, after a Microsoft outage that hit South Africa’s tax agency and the City of Cape Town.
Has this happened before?
Nationwide stops are rare. The last was in January 2023, when a fault in the system that distributes safety notices to pilots halted departures for about 90 minutes. That episode affected more than 10,000 flights and led to more than 1,000 cancellations, according to Flightradar24. Before that, US airspace was closed after the attacks of 11 September 2001.
FAQ
What is a ground stop?
It is an air traffic control order that keeps aircraft bound for the affected airports on the ground at their point of departure. Flights already airborne normally continue.
Why did the FAA order the ground stop?
The agency cited an equipment outage affecting air traffic control frequencies. The transportation secretary said it was a communication issue affecting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers.
Are international flights to the US affected?
The FAA said inbound international flights would be managed case by case, so some may be delayed or held before departure.
When will flights resume?
The FAA has not said. The advisory runs until 04:30 GMT on Saturday 14 November unless it is lifted or extended.
