The Federal Aviation Administration issued a nationwide ground stop on Friday afternoon, disrupting hundreds of flights, after reporting communication problems affecting “multiple” air traffic control centers.
The issues were related to communications and radar issues, according to an internal message from Alaska Airlines, which was seen by CNBC.
A ground stop halts flights at their departure point. Departing traffic was halted until further notice, the agency said. Disruptions tend to snowball if ground stops drag on as flight crews reach their maximum number of duty hours for a day.
“The FAA issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following communication issues impacting multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers,” the FAA said.
The agency said that “FAA technicians are investigating the issue.”
Inbound international flights will be managed on a case by case basis, the FAA said.
United Airlines said in a statement that “airborne flights will continue.” United added that it “will work with our customers to get them to their destinations once this issue is resolved.”
Nationwide ground stops are extremely rare. In January 2023, the FAA halted flights because of issues with a pilot alert system. Before that, traffic was halted nationwide after the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks.
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