Federal Aviation Administration says airplane departures can resume following nationwide ground stop

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The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday night that airplane departures can resume after the agency lifted a nationwide ground stop that Trump administration officials…

The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday night that airplane departures can resume after the agency lifted a nationwide ground stop that Trump administration officials blamed on “overloaded,” “outdated” systems.

Even with the order being lifted, the airlines will not be able to return to normal operations immediately because so many of their planes and crews are out of position.

The FAA had grounded all flights nationwide Friday afternoon, causing hundreds of flights to be diverted. Officials cited “extraordinary circumstances” caused by communications problems at regional air traffic control centers.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters at the White House that the introduction of some new technology into an old air traffic control system overwhelmed it.

The nationwide ground stop was the first since January 2023, when a key FAA computer system malfunctioned, and the second since the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

There was no indication the communications failure was related to a cyberattack. The consequences were profound, disrupting potentially thousands of planned flights through at least late Friday night and upending travel plans for passengers.

“It’s frustrating. This certainly sounds like it’s going to be more than the usual run-of-the-mill delay. I look forward to finding out why,” said Jeff Dubner, a Washington attorney whose Alaska Airlines flight home from Los Angeles was already half an hour late and taxiing to the runway when the plane came to a halt.

International flights were being handled on a case-by-case basis, according to Mullin, with some seen taking off Friday evening.

Asked whether Mullin could rule out a cyberattack or rogue artificial intelligence incident, he said: “There’s nothing completely certain right now. It doesn’t appear that way.” He said there are no “footprints” showing an attack and that it appears to be “mechanically driven,” adding that officials were still looking for the cause.

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