FAA halts US departures after air traffic communications issue

The Federal Aviation Administration ordered a nationwide halt to departing flights on Friday, November 13, after a communications issue affected air traffic control centers across the United States. The FAA said aircraft already airborne could continue to land, while inbound international flights would be handled case by case. Departures were to remain grounded until further notice.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the order followed a communications problem affecting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers and that FAA technicians were investigating. The cause of the failure and a time for lifting the restriction had not been established in the reports. The FAA cited extraordinary circumstances and safety reasons for the stop.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was no indication at that point that the disruption resulted from an attack, while officials continued to investigate its cause. Mullin also said the communications problem was not connected to a Microsoft outage. Neither statement identified what had failed in the air traffic control system.

The order followed disruptions reported in Chicago, including at O’Hare and Midway airports. Flight...