Key facts
- The FAA ordered all departing flights held on the ground; flights in the air may land.
- The FAA said departing traffic should remain groundstopped until further notice.
- The FAA said international flights will be managed on a case-by-case basis.
- The FAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.
- Reuters reported it was the second nationwide ground stop of departures since the September 11, 2001 attacks.
The US Federal Aviation Administration issued a national ground stop of all departing flights on November 13, citing "extraordinary circumstance and reasons for safety." The order means flights in the air may land, but flights on the ground cannot take off.
Shortly before the announcement, the FAA halted traffic in Chicago because of air traffic control communications issues. The agency said all departing traffic should remain groundstopped until further notice, and that international flights would be managed on a case-by-case basis. The FAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment, Reuters reported.
Reuters reported that the order was the second nationwide ground stop of all departures since the September 11, 2001 attacks; the other came in January 2023, when the FAA paused all domestic departures for less than two hours. Last year Congress approved $12.5 billion to fix the FAA's aging communications system, and on November 13 the FAA and the White House asked Congress for another $30.1 billion to address other issues, Reuters reported.