FAA lifts nationwide ground stop after four hours; more than 1,100 flights canceled

The FAA Air Traffic Control System Command Center ordered all departing flights at U.S. airports to remain on the ground around 4 p.m. EST, an order known as a nationwide ground stop. Aircraft already airborne were allowed to continue. The FAA canceled the order at 8:19 p.m. EST, ending the broadest shutdown of U.S. departures since a January 2023 notice-to-airmen failure.

FlightAware reported more than 1,100 U.S. flights canceled and nearly 10,000 delayed by 5:40 p.m. ET. Cirium counted about 11,000 departures still scheduled from U.S. airports around 4 p.m. Some international departures from East and West Coast airports were permitted to proceed, indicating the order was not absolute. The figures showed a system-wide disruption even where partial exceptions were allowed.

The disruption centered on communications used by air traffic controllers. CBS News, citing unidentified people, said an update to a private network overseen by L3Harris Technologies caused a reboot and crash; the report was not officially confirmed. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin called it a telecommunications outage and said there was no indication of a cyberattack. The FAA had not provided a full timeline for normal operations.

For passengers, the order converted a technical fault into immediate costs: stranded travelers, canceled trips, and delayed cargo. For the state, it showed the value of centralized control: grounding departures reduced uncertainty about aircraft in the system but transferred risk to the economy. The episode also exposed the fragility of private infrastructure supporting public air traffic control and the public's trust.