The US Federal Aviation Administration on Friday issued a national ground stop “due to extraordinary circumstance and reasons for safety” after the agency earlier reported serious air traffic control communications issues.
Shortly before the announcement, the FAA halted traffic in Chicago due to air traffic control communications issues. The agency said, “All departing traffic should remain groundstopped until further notice.” The FAA said international flights will be managed on a case-by-case basis.
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The FAA did not immediately respond to a request for comment.Friday was the second nationwide ground stop of all departures since the September 11, 2001, attacks. The other happened in January 2023, when the FAA paused all domestic departures for less than two hours.
Last year, Congress approved $12.5 billion to fix the FAA’s aging communications system, and on Friday the FAA and White House asked Congress for another $30.1 billion to address other issues.
Reporting by David Shepardson and Jasper Ward in Washington
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