FAA grounds all flights across US amid communications problem
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued a nationwide ground stop, grounding all flights across the United States (US) until further notice because of what it described as extraordinary circumstances and safety concerns.
According to CNN, the FAA said a communications problem affecting Air Route Traffic Control Centres, which manage flights travelling across the country, prompted the disruption.
The cause of the problem was not immediately known. However, preliminary reports from two law enforcement officials indicated that it was not a cyberattack, CNN reported.
The nationwide ground stop is a rare occurrence. The last time such a measure was implemented was in January 2023, when a pilot notification system went down. Before that, a nationwide ground stop was issued following the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.