FAA lifts ground stop after thousands of US flights halted, departures can resume

The Federal Aviation Administration announced the ground stop for all airports due to a "telecommunications outage." The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted a nationwide ground stop for US flights that halted thousands of departures for more than four hours on Friday, disrupting travel for hundreds of thousands of people.Hundreds of thousands of passengers were stranded after US authorities halted flights nationwide due to communication issues affecting air traffic control (Bloomberg)Officials cited “extraordinary circumstances” caused by communications problems at regional air traffic control centres, according to The Associated Press. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said there had been a communication issue affecting several air route traffic-control centres.Aircraft departures can now resume after the FAA lifted the ground stop, although the disruption is expected to last for days. Over 10,000 flights have been delayed, and another 4,000 have already been cancelled due to the outage, according to data from FlightAware.Deep DiveWhat led to the ground stop?The FAA grounded all departing US flights for just the second time since the 9/11 attacks in 2001, as officials cited "extraordinary circumstances" caused by communications problems at regional air traffic control centres. The agency described the problem as "a temporary telecommunications outage" and said it was acting "out of an abundance of caution."However, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mulli said there was no sign of a threat to the United States and "this isn't another 9/11.""There was no indication, as of yet, that this was a nefarious attack against us, it's just a telecommunication outage, as of right now," he said at a briefing, adding that officials had not ruled out anything at the point.With thousands of flights hit by the ground stop, reports warned that disruptions are likely to grow in the coming days. Airlines started scrubbing weekend flights, with more than 300 cancelled on Saturday, according to The Wall Street Journal.Aveek Banerjee is a Senior Content Producer at the Hindustan Times, based in Greater Noida West. With more than five years of experience in digital journalism, Aveek has worked extensively in covering national politics and international affairs, including elections, high-profile diplomatic engagements and geopolitical conflicts. His experience covers a wide range of major events, including the 2024 Lok Sabha Elections, multiple state assembly elections, US elections, Operation Sindoor, Air India crash, India-US trade tensions to the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Iran. Before joining Hindustan Times, Aveek worked at the editorial teams of CNN-News18, India TV and Asian News International (ANI), during which he developed an understanding of the high-pressure newsroom environment and honed his skills in covering breaking news, tracking crucial developments, and producing accurate news content under tight deadlines while maintaining editorial standards. These stints have also provided exposure to diverse newsroom environments and the evolving standards of the media industry. Aveek holds a Master's degree in Global Studies from Ambedkar University Delhi and a Bachelor's degree in journalism and mass communication from Vivekananda Institute of Professional Studies. Outside the newsroom, he enjoys reading, pursuing photography and exploring new places in his free time. You can reach him at aveek.banerjee@htdigital.in.Read MoreFederal Aviation Administration