The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all flights nationwide Friday afternoon, citing "extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety." Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said a communications issue is affecting the 22 regional air traffic control centers that direct planes between airports, and FAA technicians are investigating the cause.
This marks the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023, when a key FAA computer system malfunctioned. The previous such halt occurred after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Aviation safety expert Steve Arroyo, a former United Airlines pilot, said the problem appears similar to a regional communication outage in September that disrupted hundreds of flights in the Northeast, but on a nationwide scale.
Arroyo said the outage may be linked to outdated technology still used by air traffic controllers.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," he said. "And not put them in the air where you're going to risk not being able to communicate with them."
Congress approved $12.5 billion last year to overhaul the aging air traffic control infrastructure, including replacing copper wires with fiber optic lines and updating radio systems. Duffy has said an additional $30 billion will be needed to complete the modernization, and the White House is lobbying Congress for the funding.
Unlike the ground stop after Sept. 11, Arroyo noted that planes were not ordered to land immediately Friday, and pilots likely retained communication with airport ground controllers.
Sources: Las Vegas Sun, Las Vegas Review-Journal
Original reporting: 8 News Now →
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