The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a nationwide ground stop for departing flights on Friday, Nov. 13, after communications problems affected air traffic control centers. The FAA described a temporary telecommunications outage, said technicians were investigating and cited safety as the reason for holding departures.

The order applied to departures from U.S. airports; it did not mean aircraft already in the air were being forced to land immediately. The FAA said flights in the air were accounted for, while United said international departures would be handled case by case. The FAA’s order was listed through at least 11 p.m. Eastern on Friday, subject to updates.

What the FAA ground stop means for flights

Air Route Traffic Control Centers manage aircraft moving between airports at higher altitudes. When communications across the system are disrupted, a departure hold limits the number of new aircraft entering airspace while controllers and technicians work through the problem. The FAA has not publicly identified a technical cause in the reports available Friday evening.

The disruption spread beyond delayed departures. As of 7:15 p.m. Eastern, FlightAware was reporting more than 10,000 domestic delays and 4,000 cancellations over the course of Friday, according to Axios. Earlier, Cirium data cited by the Associated Press showed at least 600 flights had been diverted by 5:50 p.m. Eastern. These are time-stamped estimates from flight-tracking services, and totals can change as airlines update schedules.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said officials had no indication at that point that the outage was an attack, and the cause remained under investigation. Microsoft said its recent service outage was unrelated, according to the AP report. The FAA’s new airspace-planning system was also not identified as the cause; its developer said the ground stop was not related to its product.

What travelers should check now

Check your airline’s app or website for the latest status before leaving for the airport, and confirm directly with the carrier if your itinerary includes a connection or international segment. A departure hold can change a flight’s departure time, gate or routing, while airlines make their own cancellation and rebooking decisions. The FAA’s National Airspace System Status page provides official air-traffic updates; your airline remains the source for your specific booking.

The ground stop was a developing situation Friday evening, and its scheduled end time was not a guarantee that operations would immediately return to normal. Follow current FAA and airline notices for changes. For more airport, route and trip updates, browse The Globuzz’s Travel coverage.

Sources

Associated Press: FAA grounds all flights nationwide due to communications problems (updated during Friday’s ground stop).

Axios: FAA issues nationwide ground stop due to “extraordinary circumstances”.

Federal Aviation Administration: National Airspace System Status.