Federal Aviation Administration officials announced Friday evening that the unprecedented nationwide ground stop, which halted departures at Los Angeles International Airport and airports across the United States for more than five hours, has been lifted. The order was issued at 1 p.m. eastern time after a telecommunications outage disrupted radar and communications at multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCCs).
President Trump’s hardware upgrade helped restore service
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy credited recent upgrades made with President Trump’s support for the rapid recovery. “I have already replaced some of those switches with President Trump, and our new IP switches did not go down. It’s our old hardware,” Duffy said, noting that the upgraded equipment kept the centers and TRACONs operational.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin added that there was no indication of a cyber‑attack and emphasized that the precautionary grounding was taken “out of an abundance of caution.” He reassured the public that no lives were at risk and that all flights had been accounted for.
Local airports begin to clear the backlog
At LAX, an airport spokesperson confirmed that operations are resuming, though passengers should expect significant delays as crews work to reposition aircraft and crews. United Airlines’ check‑in counters have reopened, and other carriers are gradually restarting flights.
Long Beach Airport, John Wayne Airport and Hollywood Burbank Airport also issued advisories urging travelers to check with their airlines. An announcement over the public‑address system at Burbank reminded passengers of the situation.
Airlines’ response
JetBlue announced the cancellation of remaining evening flights, except for Europe‑bound services from JFK and Boston, and noted that flights already in the air will continue to their destinations. Delta reported that it is safely resuming operations, though it will take time to reset aircraft positioning and crew schedules.
Travelers were advised to monitor airline communications for updates on fee waivers and rebooking options.
Impact on the community
National security analyst Dr. Erroll Southers warned that such disruptions can create cascading effects, including hotel and rental‑car shortages and concerns about how long passengers may be stranded. Hertz reported an increase in one‑way rental activity as travelers adjust their plans.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said state authorities are closely monitoring the situation, and officials continue to work with the FAA to ensure safety and restore normal service.
What caused the outage?
The FAA said the ground stop was triggered by “instability for our radar and our communications in our centers and our TRACONs across the country.” Overloaded routers began transmitting inconsistent data, and the exact root cause remains under investigation.
The incident follows a recent Microsoft 365 outage, though a company spokesperson said there is no indication the FAA’s ground stop is related.
Original reporting: NBC4 Los Angeles — read the source article.
