What's happening now
• Ground stop: Domestic US flights are being allowed to depart again after federal officials issued an hours-long ground stop due to safety concerns from a telecommunications outage. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy blamed old air traffic control technology and overloaded routers.
• Call to Congress: He warned of more disruption unless the system is updated, repeatedly urging Congress to provide funds for improvements. It’s “going to be slow” to return to normal, he said, adding that it shouldn’t impact Thanksgiving travel in a couple weeks.
• No known threat: Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the ground stop did not stem from a threat to the US and was not linked to this week’s disruptive Microsoft outage.
• Travel nightmare: An estimated 1.5 million people were stranded by the cancellations, according to the data firm Cirium. The skies emptied as flights that were already in the air came in for landing and the ground stop dragged on for more than four hours.
Updates
(77)Here's what major US airlines are saying after ground stop was lifted
After the ground stop was lifted following four hours of travel disruptions and thousands of flight cancellations and delays, some airlines said their flights would resume while others said the impacts could drag into the weekend.
- Delta Air Lines has resumed all scheduled flights following the Federal Aviation Administration order lifting the nationwide ground stop. “Please visit the Delta app or check your flight status for more information,” the airline said on its website. The airline is offering flexibility options and the ability to adjust travel plans, it said.
- United Airlines said it is resuming operations, including some Friday night flights. “Safety is our highest priority as we take care of our customers and employees,” the airline said. Customers who have received travel waivers can change their travel plans this weekend as disruptions are expected to continue on Saturday, the airline said. Customers can check the latest flight status at united.com or the United app.
- Frontier Airlines said it is “working to restore operations.” Travelers can check their flight status and emails for updates, the airline said.
- JetBlue Airways called off its remaining flights for Friday and said it expects disruptions to continue into Saturday.
"You will have more of these," Duffy warns about FAA outage
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy warned that more disruptions to air travel would happen unless the system is updated, repeatedly urging Congress to act on legislation that would give them more money to improve the systems.
“You will have more of them unless the American people and the Congress tell us to build, and I can’t wait for that,” Duffy said in response to a question from CNN’s Kristen Holmes.
Holmes asked Duffy why the agency wasn’t prepared for the type of catastrophic failure like today.
“Well, I can’t anticipate every catastrophic failure that’ll happen with a TDM network, with an analog network,” he replied.
When another reporter asked Duffy to explain what he meant by this happening again, he said he didn’t know specifics.
“Is this exact thing going to happen again? I don’t, I don’t know that this exact scenario will happen,” Duffy said.
Earlier in the briefing, Duffy pointed to other instances when the system, which he repeatedly described as “analog,” failed.
“We had this happen in New York when we had global leaders were flying in for the UN. We had a similar issue. We had an issue in Newark. It happened twice,” Duffy said. “How many times does this have to happen before Congress gives the money to fix it?”
Trump is "fully engaged" in fixing FAA system, Cabinet members say
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy projected confidence in President Donald Trump’s interest in resolving FAA matters, telling reporters Friday that the president has been “fully engaged.”
“He understands it very well,” Duffy said during a Friday night briefing, adding, “He was talking about how old the system is, how past administrations have failed, and how he wants to fix the air traffic control system in America and deliver the best in the world.”
Duffy said he and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin spoke with the president multiple times to discuss the ground stop. Both men effusively praised Trump throughout the briefing. Mullin emphasized that “no one was in danger,” because of the president’s leadership and procedures set in place.
“You’ve never had a builder and a leader like President Trump lead this nation, have a vision, and put the team together,” Mullin said.
Amid the ongoing ground stop earlier this evening, Trump posted multiple times on social media, but not on the FAA issues. In one post, he urged Congress to pass legislation about Hollywood and in another he praised the US Coast Guard for their rescue efforts in Louisiana.
Delta resumes flights after FAA lifts nationwide ground stop
Delta Air Lines has resumed all scheduled flights following the Federal Aviation Authority order lifting the nationwide ground stop.
“Please visit the Delta app or check your flight status for more information,” the airline said on its website. The airline is offering flexibility options and the ability to adjust travel plans, it said.
Why the SpaceX rocket had no issues taking off
While the nationwide grounding sent ripple effects across the aviation industry, SpaceX’s Starship flight went off without incident.
Commercial space companies work closely with the Federal Aviation Administration: Before today’s launch could take place, SpaceX needed an FAA launch license, for example. And the agency issues NOTAMs — or Notice to Airmen — in order to clear air traffic around the launch site to ensure the rocket has a clear path for liftoff.
But SpaceX does not rely on the same flight tracking infrastructure as aircraft. The company uses its own telemetry, gathered directly from Starship, to ensure the vehicle is operating as intended and on the correct flight path.
Infrastructure from the US Space Force is also the primary means of tracking traffic in Earth orbit.
SpaceX spokesperson Dan Huot confirmed in an email to CNN that today’s ground stop would have no impact on their test flight. The 22-hour mission is currently underway and is expected to conclude tomorrow afternoon.
Travelers at New York City’s JFK airport face long lines and baggage claim chaos
Although the nationwide ground stop has since been lifted, CNN’s David Lopez earlier reported “big crowds and chaos in baggage claim” at John F. Kennedy airport in New York City.
He said he saw hundreds of people in dozens of separate lines in Terminal 4 at JFK trying to rebook flights.
In baggage claim, he reported “huge lines” of people trying to find what carousel their bags were on after their flights were canceled because there was no signage.
FAA technology systems need "complete overhaul," Mullin says
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin called for a “complete overhaul” of FAA’s technology systems, citing new equipment overwhelming the old framework as the reason for the ground stop.
“We need someone to come in and build the whole system. Doing it nickel-and-dime-it together does not work. This is what happens when that takes place,” Mullin said during a Friday night press briefing.
Mullin described the system failure as a result of patching new technology into existing framework which caused the older system to get overwhelmed.
“That’s why the president has made it very clear: We can’t do this. It has to be a complete overhaul of the system, which we estimate to be about $50 billion,” Mullin said.
FAA lifts ground stop but delays and cancellations persist. Here's what we know
More than four hours after all US flight departures were halted, causing travel chaos across the country, the Federal Aviation Administration lifted its nationwide ground stop Friday evening.
But frustrated travelers will continue to face delayed or canceled flights and hourslong waits at airports, as federal officials warned it will take time for airports and airlines to get back to full capacity.
Here’s what we know and don’t know:
• Why were planes grounded? The FAA announced a ground stop for all flights in the US this afternoon. A ground stop requires aircraft to remain on the ground and bars them from taking off, and more than 3,500 airplanes were in the air when it was issued.
• What caused the issue? US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said old air traffic control technology and routers overloaded with data were to blame for the nationwide ground stop today. Earlier, the FAA told airlines the problem is believed to have started at Chicago Midway International Airport and cascaded nationwide.
• Not a cyberattack: Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said his department has seen “zero evidence” that the telecommunications issue causing the ground stop was a cyberattack. But he said they were still investigating, “so we’re not going to rule that out.”
• What has been the impact? While Mullin stressed the public was not in danger, thousands of passengers across the country faced a travel nightmare. About 15,000 flights have either been delayed or canceled today, and more than 700 flights within, into, or out of the US are canceled for Saturday, according to flight data tracker FlightAware. Airports are continuing to tell passengers to confirm their flight status with their airline before going to the airport. Many travelers are now deciding whether to keep waiting it out or make other plans. Passengers deboarding one plane told CNN they were sitting on a tarmac for more than an hour and a half.
• Airports running out of space: With so many aircraft unable to fly because of the nationwide ground stop, airports were running out of gates and tarmac space to park planes. An airport source said the Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport does not have any more space to park planes and can no longer accept diversions.
• International disruptions: Eurocontrol, Europe’s air traffic control authority, suspended all US-bound departures from its 42 member countries on Friday at the FAA’s request. The suspension was scheduled to run until midnight ET. US-bound flights from major airports in Asia were also affected by the disruption.
CNN’s Pete Muntean, Josh Campbell, Isabel Rosales, Eduardo Cuevas, Alexandra Skores, Zachary Slater, Carolina Peguero, Emma Tucker and Tori B. Powell contributed reporting.
Football teams playing tomorrow can reach out to FAA for accommodations, Duffy says
The FAA can help reschedule flights for football teams playing tomorrow, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said at the White House tonight.
“If you talk about football teams moving, many of those are on charters, and there’s a lot of individuals on those charter planes,” he said. “So, I would encourage those football teams to reach out to the FAA to schedule their flight times and make sure they can move, to make sure we have games going on tomorrow.”
ESPN’s Pete Thamel previously said many college football teams are having flight issues, including No. 6 Texas, No. 8 Tennessee and No. 19 Ole Miss. The SEC said earlier tonight it was “aware” of the ground stop and remains “in close communication with our member institutions to assess potential disruptions and coordinate appropriate responses.”
Duffy says it's going to "take us some time to unwind" after ground stop
While the ground stop has been lifted, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy cautioned that it’s “going to be slow” to return to normal, depending on how many crews are available. However, Duffy said that it shouldn’t impact Thanksgiving travel in a couple weeks.
Depending on crew capacity, Duffy said they would try to move as many flights as possible tonight, adding that aircraft with more people will be prioritized.
“If not, we’re going to start tomorrow morning with our airline partners moving those aircraft. But it’s going to take us some time to unwind what’s happened this afternoon,” Duffy said.
“Hopefully, tomorrow we are going to start to see far better movement,” he added.
Duffy on system failure and subsequent ground stop: "I want you to fly safely"
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy acknowledged that the air traffic control system “had a failure” Friday but said his “number one job is America’s safety.”
Duffy asks for more funding for air traffic control revamp: "I want $50 billion"
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy urged Congress to give “emergency funding” and approve $50 billion dollars to revamp the air traffic control system, increasing a previous ask for funding of more than $30 billion.
“I’ve asked, the president’s asked for $30 billion. I want $50 billion,” Duffy said while briefing the press at the White House tonight.
“What’s more important than having an air traffic control system that actually works?” Duffy continued. “And so the president said, ‘You know what? Let’s finish this job. New hardware, new software, new telecommunication.’”
Duffy and the Department of Transportation announced a plan in 2025 to build a new air traffic control system by 2028 that would cost roughly $31.5 billion. More than $12 billion of that funding was secured through the passage of President Donald Trump’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
“We are building in that 12 and a half billion dollars. That portion of the bill will be done by the time President Trump leaves office. We are moving at a speed that has never been seen before with regard to the FAA,” Duffy said. “But that’s a partial funding.”
Duffy blames old tech, overloaded routers for nationwide ground stop
Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy said old air traffic control technology and routers overloaded with data were to blame for the nationwide ground stop today.
“What we have is an incredibly old air traffic control system,” Duffy said at a news conference tonight. “The president, for the last year, has been asking Congress to fully fund a full build of a brand new air traffic control system.”
“Our routers actually got overloaded with data, and… they started to give us inconsistency in the data from those routers. And because of that, we shut the system down,” he added.
Duffy said some routers had been replaced during his tenure, but the old hardware went down.
Duffy says more than 3,500 planes in the air when ground stop issued
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said Friday that more than 3,500 airplanes were in the air when the ground stop was issued earlier today.
“We had over 3,500 airplanes in the air. They all engaged, and last time I looked, we had less than 400 in the airspace as they were all coming in to safely land. And we navigated it with our well-known procedures that we have when these incidents happen,” Duffy said during a press briefing late Friday.
The secretary said that the ground stop was in response to instability in radar and communication centers across the country.
“We started to have inconsistency in the data from the radars and our communication with airplanes, and we have procedures for this,” he said.
US-bound flights from Europe suspended after FAA ground stop
Eurocontrol, Europe’s air traffic control authority, suspended all US-bound departures from its 42 member countries on Friday at the Federal Aviation Administration’s request.
The suspension was scheduled to run until midnight ET after a communications failure triggered a nationwide ground stop at US airports.
Flights from the US to Europe can still operate if the FAA clears them for takeoff.
Last week, Eurocontrol recorded an average of about 1,180 flights a day in both directions between Europe and the North Atlantic region. The US was the busiest destination outside Eurocontrol’s network in 2025.
"Zero evidence" of a cyber attack, but "we're still looking," Mullin says
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said his department has seen “zero evidence” that the telecommunications issue causing the ground stop was a cyber attack.
"The public was never at danger," Mullin says
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin stressed that the public was not in danger throughout tonight’s nationwide ground stop, telling reporters at the White House that it was initiated out of an “abundance of caution.”
Mullin also said no link exists between tonight’s events and Thursday’s Microsoft outage.
“There is no connection between this and Microsoft. I know a lot of people are making that jump,” Mullin said off the top of the briefing at the White House.
“I do understand the internet traffic and where all these conspiracies start running towards. I just can’t say this enough,” Mullin later said: “All your loved ones are safe.”
Mullin says things seem to be going "in the right direction" to fix FAA issue
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said “things seem to be working, as we can say, in the right direction” amid the nationwide FAA ground stop.
Addressing the press at the White House tonight in the briefing room alongside Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, Mullin stressed that “there was no cyber attack” that took down the system.
“The public was never at danger through this process. There was never any lives. There was no flights at risk,” Mullin said.
Nationwide ground stop lifted by FAA
The nationwide ground stop issued for all domestic flights has been lifted, according to the Federal Aviation Administration.
The order comes after over four hours of uncertainty due to a telecommunications outage, causing thousands of delays and cancellations at major airports.
US-bound flights from Asia also suffer delays and cancellations
US-bound flights from major airports across the Asia Pacific have also been affected by the nationwide ground stop.
Overnight flights from Incheon International Airport in the South Korean capital Seoul to Detroit, Guam, Atlanta and San Francisco face delays of up to two hours.
A Delta Air Lines flight from Hong Kong to Los Angeles was canceled, and another to the city was delayed.
A flight from Shanghai to Detroit and another from Singapore to San Francisco also faced delays.
