Flights Grounded at All Airports in the U.S.

The measure was explained as due to "emergency circumstances" and "safety considerations." "Movement must remain suspended until further notice," the FAA notice states. "The issue of international flights will be addressed on a case-by-case basis." Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy wrote on X that the reason for the suspension was a communication system failure affecting all air traffic control centers. "Technical specialists at the agency are working to determine the cause of the malfunction," he wrote. Later, the FAA reported on X that there was a "temporary failure in telecommunications systems." For safety reasons, "all flights were suspended." Preliminary data indicates that this is not a cyberattack, two law enforcement sources told CNN. According to flight tracking service FlightAware, nearly 7,000 flights have been delayed or canceled in the U.S. The last nationwide flight suspension was implemented in January 2023, when there was a failure in the pilot alerting system, CNN reminds. Before that, such a measure was applied nationwide only once—after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks.