All departing flights grounded nationwide due to FAA order

All departing flights at airports in the United States were halted on Friday afternoon by an order from the Federal Aviation Administration.

The Details

Traffic was halted due to a communication issue that impacted traffic control centers, Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on X.

An equipment outage issue was listed in an FAA status update for Chicago O’Hare International Airport as of 3:40 p.m.

This is the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023, when a key FAA computer system malfunctioned, according to the Associated Press. Before that, the last time had been after the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.

The nationwide issue was with all Air Route Traffic Control Centers, and FAA technicians were investigating, Duffy said.

“We will provide immediate updates as we have them,” his post concluded.

The Chicago Department of Aviation said it had no comment and directed questions to the FAA, which did not immediately provide further details.

This is a breaking news story. Check back for updates.

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