On Friday afternoon, the Federal Aviation Administration issued a nationwide ground stop after a communications failure affected 22 regional air‑traffic control centers, halting all departures at T.F. Green International Airport in Warwick, R.I. The shutdown, described by the Rhode Island Airport Corp. as a “frequency issue” with air traffic control, left Providence residents and visitors scrambling for information and accommodations.
Passengers reported confusion and long waits. Two travelers heading to Baltimore said airline staff told them they would not depart for at least seven hours. Sandra Hernandez, a Rhode Island native, said her flight was canceled, adding an estimated 14‑16 hours to her travel time and forcing her to find a hotel. “We’re stuck. We cannot leave,” she told turnto10.com. Other travelers described seeing families with children and pets on the floor, and one woman spent more than three hours in an Uber to reach her son’s house.
By Saturday morning, arrival and departure boards still displayed cancellations and delays, though the airport was not unusually crowded. Nick Sullivan, visiting from Florida, said his plane landed but he waited two hours before deplaning. The FAA lifted the ground stop Friday night, but the effects lingered into Saturday as airlines worked to re‑schedule flights.
Federal officials emphasized safety and denied any malicious intent. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was “no indication this was a nefarious attack” and reassured the public that “everybody’s safe.” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford told reporters Saturday that he expected air travel to return to normal by the end of Sunday, while acknowledging that some delays and cancellations would continue as airlines recovered.
Nationally, the outage forced the diversion of at least 827 flights, with 670 sent back to their origin airports and 157 redirected elsewhere, according to aviation analytics firm Cirium. More than 11,000 flights carrying over 1.5 million passengers were scheduled to depart after 4 p.m. EST on Friday, raising the likelihood of further disruptions.
Boston Logan International Airport reported that a limited number of international flights were still taking off, and airlines such as United and American confirmed that flights already in the air would continue to their destinations.
What’s next: The FAA says it will monitor the situation through Sunday, and airlines are issuing vouchers and rebooking passengers where possible. Travelers with upcoming flights from T.F. Green are advised to check directly with their airlines for the latest information and to be prepared for possible further delays.
Sources: turnto10.com, turnto10.com, turnto10.com
