Air traffic control communications faltered across 22 regional centers on Friday, forcing the Federal Aviation Administration to order a nationwide ground stop that rippled globally.
Flights from the United States to New Zealand faced disruptions, according to 1News, as carriers scrambled to manage the sudden shutdown. The Federal Aviation Administration lifted the restriction after halting departures over safety concerns stemming from the communication failure.
The disruption marked the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023, when a key Federal Aviation Administration computer system malfunctioned. Before that incident, the last nationwide halt occurred following the September 11, 2001, attacks.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that the agency investigated a communication issue affecting the 22 regional air traffic control centers that direct planes en route between airports nationwide. Aviation safety expert Steve Arroyo said that the problem appeared similar to a regional air traffic control communication outage in September that snarled hundreds of flights across the Northeast, except this time on a nationwide scale.
“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are just run down or for whatever reason, you’ve got to stop aeroplanes on the ground,” Arroyo said, pointing to the outdated technology used by air traffic controllers.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin attributed the failure to a telecommunications outage and confirmed there was no indication of a cyber-attack.
“Everybody's safe. There's no reason to be concerned about your loved ones if they're flying,” Mullin said.
Air New Zealand confirmed that flights from the US to New Zealand experienced delays due to the outage.
“We've proactively delayed these services by two hours as a precaution while we assess the situation,” the airline said in a statement. “We don't have any flights scheduled to depart New Zealand for the USA until this evening, and there is currently no impact to these services.”
In an update, Air New Zealand chief operations officer, ground and in-flight, Kate Boyer said that the airline expected “any further disruption to be limited as we resume our outbound flights from the USA to New Zealand.” Qantas also confirmed that the ground stop caused a small number of delays, including an overnight delay for a flight from JFK to Auckland.
Data from aviation analytics company Cirium showed that more than 10,000 domestic and international flights were grounded, with at least 827 flights diverted. Among those, 670 flights returned to their original departure airports, while 157 were redirected elsewhere, including Washington Dulles International Airport and Los Angeles International Airport.
Passengers encountered widespread waiting times at terminals, including Juanita Neville, an Auckland businesswoman traveling to a weekend trip who became stuck in Houston.
“Flights now being cancelled everywhere. Just heard a flight is going to Australia. I’m staying in Houston for the night as I’m struggling to rebook,” Neville told 1News.
Earlier coverage: FAA Grounds All US Departures Due to Communication Outage
