Four-Hour FAA Ground Stop Causes Thousands of Flight Cancellations in Longest Halt in 25 Years
A four-hour nationwide ground stop issued by the FAA on Friday—the longest in 25 years—canceled more than 8,000 flights after aging air traffic control equipment became overloaded with data. Officials ruled out a security threat and predicted full recovery by Sunday, while urging Congress to fund further system modernization.
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a four-hour nationwide ground stop on Friday, marking the longest such halt in 25 years. The shutdown caused thousands of flight cancellations and delays across the United States and internationally, throwing travel plans into disarray ahead of Thanksgiving.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy attributed the ground stop to an aging air traffic control system becoming overloaded with data during system updates, which caused inconsistencies in router data, intermittent communications, and radar gaps. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin stated there was no indication that the communications failure was caused by a nefarious attack.
More than 8,000 flights were canceled on Friday due to the ground stop. By Saturday morning, more than 3,000 flights within, into, or out of the US had already been canceled, according to FlightAware. Aviation consultant Andrew Charlton estimated the stoppage affected about a quarter of the 45,000 daily flights in the US.
FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford stated that US air travel should be fully recovered from the ground stop by the end of Sunday. However, officials warned of continued disruptions as airlines worked to reposition aircraft and crews.
The ripple effects extended well beyond commercial passengers. The Southeastern Conference announced that Mississippi’s game against Oklahoma was rescheduled to Sunday. Auburn University’s football team took a bus to Mississippi State, and their game start time was pushed back from noon ET to 4:15 p.m. Internationally, the UK Civil Aviation Authority warned of follow-on disruption for travelers between the UK and the USA, while impacts also reached flights connecting Europe, Canada, and the Caribbean.
Friday's event was the third nationwide ground stop issued by the FAA this century, following incidents after the September 11 attacks and in January 2023.
Duffy blamed Congress for failing to approve sufficient funding for new technology and suggested more disruptions might occur. The FAA has already replaced thousands of old copper wires with fiber optic lines and upgraded hundreds of radio systems using $12.5 billion in previously approved funding.