UPDATE: Planes are back in air; FAA issues nationwide grounding of all planes

WASHINGTON, D.C. - UPDATE on Friday evening: The FAA lifted the grounding of all aircraft at around 8:30 p.m. on Friday.

Original story: The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a rare nationwide ground stop for all departing flights across the U.S. on Friday, November 13, due to a major communications outage affecting regional air traffic control centers.

Travelers nationwide are facing widespread delays as a telecommunications and equipment outage disrupts operations at Air Route Traffic Control Centers. Reports indicate the issue began at the Kansas City Center and then spread. The FAA and aviation officials are working to resolve the technical failure and restore normal airspace operations.

During the ground stop, all departing domestic flights nationwide are barred from taking off. Flights that are already airborne are permitted to remain in the air and land safely, while inbound international flights are being handled on a case-by-case basis. Thousands of flights have already been delayed or stranded at airports across the country.

This marks only the third nationwide ground stop in decades, following previous halts on September 11, 2001, and in January 2023. Travelers can check real-time national airspace updates on the FAA Airspace System Status page or monitor live delay data via FlightAware.