FAA grounds all US flights after 22 control centers hit by comms failure

The Federal Aviation Administration halted all air traffic across the United States on Friday afternoon due to communication failures at regional air traffic control centers. The agency issued a ground stop citing extraordinary circumstances and the need for safety. This marks the first time the FAA has grounded all flights nationwide since a computer system malfunction in January 2023. The previous nationwide stop occurred after the attacks on September 11, 2001.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy stated that a communications issue affects the 22 regional centers responsible for directing planes between airports. FAA technicians are currently investigating the cause of the outage. The disruption follows a period of federal efforts to upgrade aging infrastructure. Congress approved $12.5 billion last year to replace old copper wires with fiber optic lines and to update radio systems at airports.

Despite these investments, much of the old technology remains in place. Duffy indicated that an additional $30 billion is required to complete the modernization process. The White House has begun lobbying Congress for this extra funding. Aviation safety expert Steve Arroyo, a former United Airlines pilot, noted that the current issue resembles a regional outage in September that disrupted hundreds of flights in the Northeast. He suggested the problem may be linked to the outdated technology still used by controllers.

Arroyo explained that when controllers cannot confirm communication with aircraft, they must keep planes on the ground to avoid risk. "If you don't have that ability, whether it's because the old wires that they have are just run down or for whatever reason, you've got to stop airplanes on the ground," Arroyo said. He added that pilots must not be put in the air if there is a risk they cannot communicate with the tower.

Experts note that Friday's stop differs from the post-2001 event in specific operational details. Arroyo said planes were not ordered to land immediately during the current stop. Pilots likely retained the ability to communicate with ground controllers at their respective airports. The FAA has not yet announced a timeline for resuming normal operations.