CA, US & World
FAA Nationwide Ground Stop Follows Telecommunications Outage; Officials Say No Sign of Cyberattack
A nationwide ground stop halted departing flights across the United States Friday after a temporary telecommunications outage disrupted the Federal Aviation Administration's air traffic control system.
The FAA ordered the stoppage, citing “extraordinary circumstances” and safety concerns. The outage affected the 22 regional Air Route Traffic Control Centers responsible for managing aircraft traveling between airports, according to the FAA.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the incident did not appear to involve a threat to the United States. Preliminary reports also indicated it was not a cyberattack, according to law enforcement sources cited by CNN.
FBI personnel across the country continued monitoring the situation, one law enforcement source told CNN.
Mullin said officials had not established a timeline for resolving the communications outage, emphasizing that passenger safety remained the priority.
“We have not discussed any timeframe,” Mullin told reporters at the White House.
“It's going to take some time,” he added, saying the issue would not necessarily be resolved within an hour.
The disruption was serious enough that some portions of the national airspace system were placed in what aviation officials call “ATC Zero,” meaning air traffic control services could not be provided.
In audio captured by ATC.com, a controller warned pilots approaching Chicago that approach control had reached ATC Zero and Chicago Center was close to the same status because of equipment problems.
“We lost all of the frequencies and all of the automation for the handoff and strips and stuff,” the controller said.
Officials said aircraft that were already airborne were accounted for and could continue to land safely. International flights were being handled on a case-by-case basis.
The nationwide ground stop is the first since January 2023, when an outage involving the FAA's Notice to Air Missions system disrupted the distribution of safety information to pilots. Before that, U.S. airspace was shut down following the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.
Airlines warned passengers to expect delays and cancellations as the agency worked to restore normal operations. The cause of the telecommunications failure remained under investigation.
By: CNN Newsource
November 13, 2026
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