US government grounds all flights nationwide

The Federal Aviation Administration announced on Friday afternoon that all flights throughout the United States have been grounded because of “extraordinary circumstances” and safety-related concerns. An equipment outage was identified as the primary cause for the disruption, according to the FAA website, which also noted the portal was “experiencing technical difficulties” during the incident.

The Air Traffic Control System Command Center issued an alert stating that the ground stop prevents aircraft from leaving departure gates. All departing planes are required to remain on the ground “until further notice,” while the FAA said inbound international flights will be “managed on a case-by-case basis.”

A spokesperson for the FAA explained that the ground stop was issued “following communication issues impacting multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers,” which are responsible for managing airspace across the United States. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated in a post on X that “FAA technicians are investigating the issue.”

It remains unclear what specifically caused the equipment outage. The disruption occurs during the same week the administration introduced an AI-powered tool for air traffic controllers designed to reduce aircraft flight time and fuel costs, though it is not known if the two events are related.