FAA issues US-wide ground stops due to rolling frequency outage; over 7,000 flights affected

The US Federal Aviation Administration on Friday afternoon issued a nationwide ground stop on flights due to a frequency outage with ATC controllers. All departures have been halted until further notice, the FAA said in an alert.

Over 7,000 flights have been affected. A flight information display board shows several flights cancelled at LaGuardia Airport in Queens, New York on August 27. (Representational) (AFP)"FAA issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S.

airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers," US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a X post. “FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them.” Journalist Anna Giaritelli shared a FAA release which cited “rolling frequency outage” as the cause of the ground stop.

A frequency outage occurs when the radio communication infrastructure that enables pilots to communicate with Air Traffic Control (ATC) controllers fails to function properly. A country-wide failure, at such a large scale, is unprecedented.

However, the flights already in the air will be allowed to land. The directive, issued by the FAA Command Center, took effect at 3:54pm ET on November 13, Friday, and is scheduled to remain in force until 11:30pm ET. Inbound international flights will be handled on a case-by-case basis, according to the advisory issued by the Air Traffic Control System Command Center (ATCSCC).

The notice did not specify the circumstances behind the order, except calling it “extraordinary,” or provide details about when normal flight operations would resume. Reuters reports that at least 7,000 flights have been delayed or canceled due to the ATC controller issues.

The last time the FAA issues a nationwide ground stop was in 2023. It lasted a little less than two hours. The major nationwide ground stop has brought under scrutiny a newly deployed AI tool to assist ATC in controlling air traffic.

The SMART tool was deployed across the ATC's system to assist in managing air traffic across the entire national airspace system,” the FAA had said. The tool was deployed on Thursday, November 12. Called the Strategic Management of Airspace Routing Trajectories (SMART), it was deployed as a pilot project first at the Washington, D.C., airspace in September.

A report by Ars Technica claimed the system was able to save up to f $345 per flight with jet fuel at $4:31 per gallon. The ATC handles over 100,000 flights daily, according to FAA data. Shamik is a journalist covering the United States for Hindustan Times.

He has more than four years of experience reporting on US politics, sports, and major breaking stories across fast-moving cycles. He previously worked at Times Now and Sportskeeda, building strong newsroom instincts and digital storytelling skills.

At HT.com, he focuses on day-to-day coverage of US political developments while also handling high-impact stories that demand speed, accuracy, clarity, and context under pressure. Shamik has extensive experience covering NFL game days over the past two years, coordinating live updates, analysis, and explainers.

He is particularly drawn to large news moments such as US elections and the Super Bowl, where he thrives at the news desk working alongside the team. He holds degrees in Media Studies from Jamia Millia Islamia and English Literature from Jadavpur University.

Before entering journalism, he briefly worked in digital marketing and political consultancy roles. Currently a Senior Content Producer at HT Digital, he is driven by curiosity, discipline, and a constant desire to explore new and obscure topics.

Outside work, he enjoys reading, films, sports, and learning continuously.Read More