The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has temporarily halted all flight departures at airports across the United States. The decision was made on Friday local time after a communication system failure was detected among air traffic control centers nationwide. Approximately 7,000 flights have been canceled or delayed as a result.
This marks the second time the country has grounded all flights since the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks. Previously, in January 2023, the FAA had paused all domestic departures for less than two hours.
Grounding Directive
According to the FAA's directive, aircraft already in the air will be permitted to land at their destinations. However, no new flights will be allowed to depart from airports. Flight tracking service FlightAware confirmed this information.Trump Briefed, Threat Questioned
President Donald Trump has been briefed on the nationwide flight disruption. Homeland Security Secretary Markwen Mullin stated that no indications of a threat to the United States have been found in connection with the incident. However, the cause of the communication system failure remains unknown, and it will take time for the situation to fully normalize.When asked by journalists whether the disruption was caused by a cyberattack or an artificial intelligence (AI) malfunction, Mullin said, "At this moment, no possibility can be ruled out." Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy did not provide further details on the matter.
