FAA Nationwide Ground Stop Delays Hundreds of Flights at Phoenix Sky Harbor

As Phoenix New Times reported, departures out of Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport were halted Friday alongside all other flights across the country after the Federal Aviation Administration issued a nationwide ground stop for merely the second occasion following September 11, 2001.

The FAA said in a statement that all inbound international flights will be managed individually. The ground stop affected more than 500 flights at Phoenix’s Sky Harbor by the time the agency announced the end to the outage at around 6:30 p.m.

There has been a temporary telecommunications outage – out of an abundance of caution all flights have been halted. Every flight has been accounted for and international flights will be handled on a case by case basis.

— Post by @FAANews on X

“There has been a temporary telecommunications outage — out of an abundance of caution all flights have been halted,” the FAA posted to X, adding that every flight had been accounted for and that international flights would be handled on a case-by-case basis.

The nationwide ground stop was issued due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety, the agency said in a notice Friday afternoon. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said on X that FAA technicians were investigating the issue.

The @FAAnews issued a nationwide ground stop for all U. S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them.

— Post by @SecDuffy on X

More than 300 Sky Harbor flights were delayed as of 3 p.m. across numerous airlines, leaving travelers looking at the airport’s website to see the delay code, DL, beside nearly every flight listed.

Beleaguered travelers made the best of the situation as delays mounted. One poster in Phoenix put a bright spin on the stoppage. “Accidentally became part of aviation history,” they wrote.

ASU running back Kyson Brown posted this photo from the gate ASU’s team is currently stuck at: 📸 @662_sipp/IG pic.twitter.com/lz3UeF51qD

— Post by @Blakes_Take2 on X

One possible casualty of the stoppage is Arizona State’s football game against Central Florida, which was scheduled for Saturday in Orlando.

Nationwide ground stops remain incredibly rare in America. The NOTAM system—the FAA’s mechanism for warning pilots about runway closures, outages, and other hazards—suffered a computer glitch in January 2023 that disrupted operations. That grounding lasted about 90 minutes. On 9/11, the FAA stopped all civilian departures at 9:25 a.m. Eastern Time and did not allow flights by commercial carriers for two whole days.

The Federal Aviation Administration is reporting a nationwide ground stop for departing aircraft. Travelers are encouraged to check their flight status with their airline before heading to the airport.

— Post by @PHXSkyHarbor on X

Confirming the FAA’s ground stop directive, Phoenix’s Sky Harbor International Airport shared a message on X that provided helpful guidance for travelers. “Travelers are encouraged to check their flight status with their airline before heading to the airport,” it read.

While acknowledging that a communications disruption was impacting multiple American air traffic control facilities, the agency refrained from releasing PHX-specific information.