The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports on Friday afternoon, citing “extraordinary circumstances” for safety.
According to Sean Duffy, U.S. Secretary of Transportation, the issue stems from communication issue impacting “all Air Route Traffic Control Centers” nationwide.
“The @FAAnews issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers,” Duffy posted to X Friday afternoon. “FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them.”
Was the FAA hit by a cyberattack?
The cause of the air traffic control communications disruption remains unclear. Federal officials have yet to publicly identify what triggered the problem, and it is unclear if the incident is linked to a cyberattack.
The FAA directed departing flights to remain on the ground until further notice and said it would handle inbound international flights case by case. The agency had already halted traffic in Chicago over air traffic control communications problems before issuing the nationwide order.
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