The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has lifted a nationwide ground stop that brought air travel across the United States to a standstill following a telecommunications outage affecting air traffic control centres.
US Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy confirmed that the restriction was lifted at 8:15 p.m. Eastern Standard Time on Friday, allowing airlines to resume departures after several hours of disruption.
However, Duffy cautioned that restoring normal operations would take time, with thousands of passengers stranded at airports as airlines worked to clear the backlog of delayed and cancelled flights.
The outage affected all 22 regional Air Route Traffic Control Centres responsible for coordinating aircraft movements across the country.
The FAA ordered the nationwide ground stop shortly before 4 p.m. ET, citing extraordinary circumstances and safety concerns.
According to The Associated Press, approximately 11,000 flights carrying more than 1.5 million passengers had been scheduled to depart US airports after 4 p.m. Friday, leaving travellers facing widespread disruptions.
The FAA said the telecommunications failure prompted the precautionary suspension of departures, while aircraft already airborne were handled under established safety procedures.
Some international flights were also affected, with US-bound services from across Europe suspended or disrupted following the FAA directive.
The airspace was reopened at 8:15 p.m. ET after technicians restored functionality at air traffic control centres and terminal radar approach control facilities.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin dismissed speculation that the incident was linked to a cyberattack, saying there was zero evidence of a deliberate attack against the United States.
Mullin said officials had no indication that the outage represented a security threat, urging the public not to panic over the incident.
The cause of the telecommunications failure remains under investigation, with officials yet to provide a comprehensive explanation of what triggered the disruption.
The incident was among the most significant nationwide aviation disruptions in recent years, recalling the September 11, 2001 attacks, when US airspace was shut down following terrorist strikes.
The latest shutdown also revived concerns about the vulnerability of America's ageing air traffic control infrastructure, with transportation officials facing renewed pressure to modernise systems responsible for managing one of the world's busiest aviation networks.
Airlines have warned passengers to expect continued delays and cancellations as aircraft and crews are repositioned and disrupted schedules gradually return to normal.
Travellers have been advised to check directly with their airlines for updated departure times and flight status as recovery operations continue.
The FAA has maintained that the temporary grounding was necessary to protect aviation safety while technicians addressed the communications failure.
