FAA orders nationwide ground stop for all departing flights due to ‘safety reasons’
The Federal Aviation Administration on Friday ordered a nationwide stopover on all departing flights “due to extraordinary circumstances and for safety reasons.”
The unusual alert contained no information other than that “all departing traffic should remain stopped until further notice.”
“Incoming international flights will be handled on a case-by-case basis,” the FAA said.
“FAA technicians are investigating the issue,” Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in an online message. “We will provide immediate updates as soon as we have them.”
Shortly before the FAA issued its alert, Chicago’s two main airports — O’Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport — were placed on ground alert due to an “equipment failure,” NBC Chicago reported.
Deveren Werne was on an American Airlines plane about to take off from Indianapolis to Chicago when suddenly the pilots announced that all flights were grounded.
“At first the pilot announced that there was some kind of radio problem,” Werne, 55, of Greenville, South Carolina, told NBC News in a telephone interview. “Then, a little later, the pilot said something like, ‘There’s something more serious going on than that.'”
Werne, a consultant who helps manufacturers and other industries adapt AI technology, said he travels frequently and this is a first for him. He said there had been “a mix of emotions” from other passengers upon hearing the announcement.
“Then I started hearing from other friends who were on planes, including one in Chicago who was stuck on a runway,” Werne said. “Right now our plane is heading back to the terminal so at least we’ll be able to disembark.”
At Newark Liberty International Airport, control tower staff said the situation was “an absolute disaster right now,” according to LiveATC. “We are running out of space” and “there are major door issues” were also heard on the live audio feed.
“I’m in the dark as much as everyone else, I’m not getting any information from anyone,” a controller in Newark said, according to the wire.
After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the FAA ordered an unprecedented nationwide ground check. All civilian air traffic in U.S. airspace was halted and airborne aircraft were ordered to land at the nearest available airports.
In January 2023, the FAA grounded all flights, due to a failure in the air mission advisory system, which alerts pilots to a multitude of potential dangers.
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