US lifts nationwide flight halt after air traffic control system failure disrupts thousands of flights

The Federal Aviation Administration lifted a nationwide ground stop Friday night, allowing airplane departures to resume after disruptions tied to a communications failure at regional air traffic control centers.

Officials described the incident as caused by “extraordinary circumstances” from overwhelmed, outdated systems, with some new technology introduced into the aging network contributing to the overload. There was no confirmed cyberattack at this time.

The stoppage led to at least 827 flights being diverted and hundreds more affected as thousands of passengers faced delays or altered plans. By 7:05 p.m. EST, the majority of affected flights had either returned to their originating airports or were redirected to different airports.

Airports such as Washington Dulles, Los Angeles International, Cincinnati/Northern Kentucky, and Nashville International were among those receiving diverted flights. Large-scale impacts were anticipated for international and domestic schedules, with about 11,000 flights planned to operate after 4 p.m. EST potentially facing further changes.

airlines reported that even with the halt lifted, full normalization would take time as crews and aircraft returned to proper positions and schedules, creating ongoing disruptions despite the restoration of departures. The investigation continues to determine the exact cause and whether the modernization of the air-traffic system contributed to the outage.