FAA Lifts Nationwide Ground Stop Following Communication Outage; Flight Delays Persist

A rare nationwide ground stop issued by the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday afternoon has been canceled, the department announced Friday night.

Officials halted all departing flights due to “extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety,” according to the Air Traffic Control System Command Center alert.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said it will take some time to “unwind” what happened on Friday afternoon. Both Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field Airport are still seeing delays following the disruption.

Multiple sources tell CBS News that an update to the private communications network connecting America’s air traffic control system caused the system to reboot. When the FAA’s telecommunications infrastructure rebooted, it crashed, causing the communications outage.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said it will take some time

The system is operated by technology and communications company L3Harris. We have reached out to L3Harris for comment.

Telecommunication outage grounds flights nationwide

The FAA says there were communication issues impacting a number of air route traffic control centers. Getting all flights back on track will take time. It is unknown when that could occur.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters in a briefing outside the White House that “there was no indication, as of yet, that this was a nefarious act against us. It was just a telecommunication outage, as of right now.”

He added that officials had no reason to believe the incident was a threat to the United States. “This was a telecommunication outage throughout FAA. Out of an abundance of caution, we have grounded all the flights. And all the flights are accounted for,” Mullin said.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin

This nationwide ground stop has only happened two other times. The first was on Sept. 11 in the wake of the terror attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. The second was in January of 2023 when there was a system failure in the FAA’s Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system.

Flights experience delays and cancellations at Love Field and DFW

At Love Field, 175 flights have been delayed; 64 have been canceled. At DFW Airport, 586 flights have been delayed, down from over 800; 624 flights have been canceled.

National FAA ground stop impacting all airports, including DFW Airport

Just before 8 p.m., the first flight in more than 5 hours departed DFW Airport. It was American Airlines flight 192 to Barcelona, Spain. American Airlines said it is focused on operating as many remaining flights as possible Friday evening “while positioning the airline for the strongest possible recovery tomorrow and in the days ahead.”

“For the remainder of the evening, we are prioritizing flights to non-hub cities, as well as international flying, to position aircraft and crew where they are needed to help restore our operation,” American Airlines said in a statement to CBS News Texas.

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Southwest Airlines said, after consulting with the FAA, it has decided to resume a limited number of flights Friday night. “After consulting with the FAA and to ensure the highest levels of safety, Southwest Airlines is resuming a limited number of flights this evening,” Southwest said.

Impacts on weekend college sports travel

There are multiple reports of college football teams that haven’t made it to their Saturday game locations. The Southeastern Conference and the Big 12 Conference both issued statements regarding the travel delays.

FAA lifts nationwide ground stop — Associated Press

“The Southeastern Conference is aware of the FAA’s nationwide ground stop and the potential impact on team travel for this weekend’s competitions,” the SEC said. “We are in close communication with our member institutions to assess potential disruptions and coordinate appropriate responses.”

The Big 12 Conference said it is evaluating potential changes to the college football schedule. “Due to the national FAA ground stop impacting team travel, the Big 12 Conference is evaluating potential changes to Saturday’s football schedule,” the Big 12 said.

Earlier coverage: FAA Lifts Nationwide Ground Stop After Communications Outage Disrupts Flights