Why It Matters
The Federal Aviation Administration grounded all flights in the United States until further notice, citing extraordinary circumstances and safety concerns tied to a temporary telecommunications outage.
What Happened
Some portions of the national airspace were placed in “ATC Zero” status on Friday. The designation means air traffic control services cannot be provided in those areas.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the ground stop was not caused by a threat to the United States. Preliminary reports indicated the outage was not a cyberattack, while FBI personnel nationwide continued monitoring the situation.
By the Numbers
- All U.S. flights were grounded until further notice.
- Friday was the day some airspace entered “ATC Zero” status.
- January 2023 marked the last nationwide ground stop.
- September 11, 2001, was associated with the previous nationwide ground stop before 2023.
Zoom Out
The January 2023 nationwide ground stop followed the failure of a pilot notification system. The earlier nationwide stoppage followed the September 11, 2001, attacks.
What’s Next
Officials had not provided a timeframe for restoring normal flight operations. Mullin said, “We have not discussed any timeframe,” and added, “It’s going to take some time.”
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