The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has just issued a nationwide ground stop affecting more than 30,000 flights.
“There has been a temporary telecommunications outage,” the FAA announced on the social media site X. “Out of an abundance of caution, all flights have been halted. Every flight has been accounted for and international flights will be handled on a case by case basis.”
The stoppage went into effect just shortly before 1 p.m. PST. More than 30,000 U.S. departures and arrivals are affected, according to Flighty, a flight tracking app.
Travel advisors were quick to react, many taking to social media to post news of the outage. Some quickly posted on-camera videos to Instagram to explain the news to followers and what it meant for flights leaving today.
I'm not here to scare you, I'm here to give you some tips.
"Travel advisor perspective: I'm not here to scare you, I'm here to give you some tips,” said Victoria Fricke of Vic’s Vacations in a two-minute Instagram video to her followers.
She advised followers to monitor their airline app, be kind to gate agents, be patient and have a plan B, such as booking a rental car and a hotel for the night.
Mallory Dumond, a top-producing travel advisor at Travelmation, immediately reached out to her clients.
“While we don’t know exactly why or when it could end, I’m reaching out and encouraging all my clients traveling to pack their patience — it truly goes a long way in situations like this,” she said. “Unfortunately, this is a wait-and-see situation. Those traveling who may be in the airports should consider rental car options while also checking their traveler’s rights with their airline and any travel insurance they may have purchased.”
Natalia Yepes, a former flight attendant and the owner of Adventuresque Travel Boutique, agrees, emphasizing that fellow advisors should spread calm to their clients.
“Tell your clients you are monitoring the situation and communicate any updates clearly and in a timely fashion, so they know you care,” she said.
She also shared that while this situation is outside the airline’s control, clients should keep all receipts in case airlines are gracious and want to offer reimbursements. Those with travel insurance should also keep all receipts, she says.
While all flights departing from U.S. airports are currently grounded, The New York Times reports airborne flights have been seen landing. About 30 minutes after the stoppage was declared, planes were spotted landing at O’Hare International Airport in Chicago.
This is only the third nationwide ground stoppage in decades. Following the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York City, the FAA issued a nationwide ground stop. More recently, another stoppage was issued on Jan. 11, 2023 due to an FAA system outage that prevented pilots from obtaining essential pre-departure paperwork.
“The [FAA] issued a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers,” Sean Duffy, U.S. secretary of transportation, wrote on X. “FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them.”