Local News
The FAA ordered departing flights to remain on the ground Friday because of a communications issue affecting air traffic control centers across the country.
The Federal Aviation Administration said Friday night that airplane departures can resume after the agency lifted a nationwide ground stop that Trump administration officials blamed on “overloaded,” “outdated” systems.
Even with the order being lifted, the airlines will not be able to return to normal operations immediately because so many of their planes and crews are out of position.
The FAA had grounded all flights nationwide Friday afternoon, causing hundreds of flights to be diverted. Officials cited “extraordinary circumstances” caused by communications problems at regional air traffic control centers.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters at the White House that the introduction of some new technology into an old air traffic control system overwhelmed it. He couldn’t rule out another outage.
Logan Airport typically handles more than 1,100 aircraft takeoffs and landings per day, or roughly 550 departures, according to Massport’s 2024 airport statistics.
The ground stop began at 4 p.m. Friday, halting departing flights at airports nationwide.
Gov. Maura Healey said she has been briefed on the situation and is in contact with Massport about its impact on travelers flying into and out of Massachusetts. In a post on X, Healey said her administration is working to get answers from federal officials and will share updates as more information becomes available.
Passengers flying out of Logan and other airports are advised to check with their airlines for the latest updates about individual flights.
The nationwide order followed earlier flight disruptions at some airports, including Chicago O’Hare and Midway, where ground stops had been issued because of equipment outages, according to ABC News.
Most college football teams playing Saturday travel the day before their game, and the stoppage left many schools — including No. 2 Utah, eighth-ranked Texas and No. 9 Tennessee — at a standstill as they departed for road games. The Utes play at No. 22 Arizona, the Longhorns visit No. 24 LSU and the Vols are traveling to Texas A&M in three of the bigger games of the weekend.
“The Southeastern Conference is aware of the FAA’s nationwide ground stop and the potential impact on team travel,” the league said. “We are in close communication with our member institutions to assess potential disruptions and coordinate appropriate responses. The safety and well-being of student-athletes, coaches and team personnel remain our highest priority.”
The Longhorns posted on social media a short video of them boarding their plane before the stoppage began. If they ended up busing to Baton Rouge, Louisiana, the trip for the 6:30 p.m. CT kickoff against the Tigers on Saturday would take about seven hours.
“We are grounded and waiting to see when we can leave,” a Texas team spokesman said.
This is the second time flights have been grounded nationwide since the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. The previous nationwide ground stop occurred in January 2023 following an outage of the FAA’s Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system, which provides pilots with important safety information.
The government has been working to overhaul the outdated technology that air traffic controllers rely on since Congress approved $12.5 billion for the project last year. Miles of old copper wires have been replaced with fiber optic lines and old radio systems are gradually being replaced at airports across the country.
But much work remains.
The problem appeared similar to a regional air traffic control communication outage in September that snarled hundreds of flights across the Northeast, aviation safety expert Steve Arroyo said, except this time on a nationwide scale. It may be linked to the outdated technology used by air traffic controllers.
“If you don’t have that ability, whether it’s because the old wires that they have are just run down or for whatever reason, you’ve got to stop airplanes on the ground,” said Arroyo, who is a former United Airlines pilot. “And not put them in the air where you’re going to risk not being able to communicate with them.”
Friday’s ground stop was different than the one after Sept. 11 because planes were not being told to land immediately and pilots likely were able to communicate with ground controllers at airports, Arroyo said.
Written by Boston.com’s Morgan Rousseau.
