FAA halts departures at JFK, LaGuardia and all U.S. airports in rare nationwide ground stop

Departures from JFK, LaGuardia and every other U.S. airport were halted Friday afternoon after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a rare nationwide ground stop, citing a communications problem at the regional centers that guide planes between airports, amNewYork and ABC7 reported.

The FAA's alert, issued at 3:54 p.m. Eastern, said the stop was imposed "due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety" and that all departing traffic should stay on the ground "until further notice," NBC News reported. Flights already in the air were allowed to land; inbound international flights are being handled case by case, according to the FAA advisory.

Where things stand Friday evening

• Still in effect: an FAA Command Center update issued at 5:46 p.m. Eastern said the ground stop "remains in effect," listed the reason as a communications failure, and set the next expected update for 11 p.m. Eastern. As en-route facilities recover, flights "will be allowed to depart" in coordination with the Command Center, the advisory said.
• The cause: Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said a communication issue was affecting all 22 Air Route Traffic Control Centers, which handle flights above 18,000 feet, and that FAA technicians were investigating, according to amNY and ABC7.
• Not an attack, so far: Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters there was no indication yet of a "nefarious attack" and called it a telecommunications outage "as of now," while saying officials were not ruling anything out, ABC7 reported.
• How rare: it is only the second nationwide ground stop since Sept. 11, 2001. The other came in January 2023, when the FAA's NOTAM pilot-alert system failed, amNY reported.

If you're flying out of New York

• Check with your airline before heading to the airport. New domestic departures are not leaving while the stop is in place; United said flights already airborne would continue, NBC News reported.
• Expect knock-on delays. American Airlines said it expects disruption to its schedule for the rest of the day, depending on how long the ground stop lasts. Even after it lifts, departures are expected to be released gradually as the control centers recover, per the FAA advisory.
• Arrivals may circle or divert. An FAA advisory warned that planes could face airborne holding at any airport into the night. Before the stop was ordered, Chicago's O'Hare and Midway airports had already been halted because of an equipment outage, amNY reported.

We will update this story when the FAA lifts the ground stop.