FAA grounds all US flights after equipment outage

The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday afternoon it had grounded all flights across the United States, citing “extraordinary circumstances” and safety concerns. The FAA website listed the cause as an “equipment outage.” The site itself was down briefly at the time of publication, carrying a note that it was “experiencing technical difficulties.”

An alert from the Air Traffic Control System Command Center, or ATCSCC, said the ground stop means aircraft cannot take off from departure gates. The message said the disruption was “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety” but gave no further detail. The alert was not visible on the ATCSCC website at press time.

All departing flights must remain on the ground “until further notice,” the alert said. Inbound international flights will be “managed on a case-by-case basis.”

An FAA spokesperson told TechCrunch the ground stop was issued “following communication issues impacting multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers,” which manage airspace across the United States. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a post on X: “FAA technicians are investigating the issue.”

It is not clear what caused the ongoing FAA equipment outage. The outage comes in the same week the administration rolled out an AI-powered tool for air traffic controllers intended to save aircraft flight time and fuel costs, though it is unclear whether the outage is related.

Speaking to reporters outside the White House, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there is “no indication yet that this was a nefarious act,” but warned the recovery “is going to take some time.”