FAA grounds all flights nationwide due to communications problems

The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all flights nationwide Friday afternoon due to communications problems at regional air traffic control centers, an FAA notice said. The ground stop was being imposed “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety,” according to the notice. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said a communications issue was affecting the regional air traffic control centers that direct planes between airports nationwide. 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, 2001 attacks. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said there was no indication yet that “this was a nefarious attack against us. It’s just a telecommunications outage.” “There is no indication — and we had no reason to believe that — as of right now, that this was a threat to the United States,” Mullin said. “This was a telecommunication outage,” Mullin told reporters outside the White House. He said details were still emerging, but that the president had been briefed. Mullin said the immediate priority was ensuring that planes still in the air would be landing safely, but that there was no clear information on how long the stoppage might last. He also downplayed comparisons to the Sept. 11 attacks of 2001, saying, “This isn’t the same comparison to 9/11. That’s a road I won’t go down.” FAA says flights halted ‘out of an abundance of caution’ The federal agency said on social media that there has been a temporary telecommunications outage. All flights have been accounted for and international flights will be “handled on a case by case basis,” the agency said. Homeland Security secretary says currently no indication of an attack “There was no indication as of yet this was a nefarious attack against us,” said U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin. All flights in the air are accounted for, he said during a news conference, adding that the public has no reason to be afraid. The FAA’s ground stop order runs through at least 11 p.m. today Passengers on boarded plane returned to gate Passengers on an American Airlines flight from Wichita to Chicago on Friday afternoon received text messages explaining the problem as “air traffic conditions in Chicago.” The plane sat on the runway for about an hour before the captain announced the air traffic problem seemed to be nationwide, and the plane would return to the gate. Passengers deboarded and the airline said no one would be rebooked for at least an hour. Aviation safety expert says issue appears similar to September regional outage Former United Airlines pilot and aviation expert Steve Arroyo said the problem appeared similar to a regional air traffic control communication outage in September that snarled hundreds of flights across the Northeast, except this time on a nationwide scale. Arroyo said it could be linked to the outdated technology used by air traffic controllers. “If you don’t have that ability, whether it’s because the old wires that they have are just run down or for whatever reason, you’ve got to stop airplanes on the ground,” said Arroyo. “And not put them in the air where you’re going to risk not being able to communicate with them.” First nationwide ground stop since January 2023 A key FAA computer system malfunctioned, temporarily grounding all flights nationwide and touched off a cascading air traffic jam. Before that the last time had been after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Flights halted at airports across US due to air traffic control communications problems, FAA says The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all flights nationwide Friday afternoon because of communications problems at regional air traffic control centers. The FAA notice said the ground stop was being imposed “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said there is a communications issue affecting the 22 regional air traffic control centers that direct planes en route between airports nationwide. 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, 2001, attacks.