All flights in the United States are grounded until further notice, “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety,” the Federal Aviation Administration said in a statement. The cause of the ground stop was not immediately clear, but an FAA spokesperson said there is a communications problem impacting Air Route Traffic Control Centers, which handle flights going across the country. “Traffic should remain ground stopped until further notice,” the FAA said in an advisory. “International flights will be managed on a case-by-case basis.” The last time there was a nationwide ground stop in January of 2023, when a pilot notification system went down. Prior to that, the last time a nationwide ground stop was issued was after the September 11, 2001 attacks.
