HYANNIS – The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) lifted its nationwide ground stop Friday evening, November 13, allowing flights to resume after a widespread communications outage disrupted air travel across the United States for more than four hours.
The ground stop was lifted shortly after 8 p.m., but federal officials and airlines warned that significant delays and cancellations could continue into the weekend as carriers work to reposition aircraft and flight crews.
The disruption affected airports nationwide, including Cape Cod Gateway Airport in Hyannis, Nantucket Memorial Airport and Martha’s Vineyard Airport.
The extent of the disruption to scheduled flights serving the three local airports was not immediately clear.
The FAA issued the nationwide ground stop shortly before 4 p.m. Friday after a telecommunications failure affected regional air traffic control centers responsible for managing aircraft across the country.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the communications problems involved the nation’s air traffic control infrastructure. Federal officials indicated that the failure may have involved compatibility issues between newer technology and aging equipment.
The FAA ordered departing aircraft to remain on the ground as a safety precaution while allowing aircraft already in flight to land.
The disruption caused thousands of flight delays and cancellations nationwide. According to the Associated Press, at least 827 flights were diverted during the incident. Approximately 11,000 flights carrying more than 1.5 million passengers had been scheduled to depart after 4 p.m. Friday.
Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said investigators had found no indication that the outage resulted from a cyberattack or other malicious activity. Federal officials continued investigating the cause of the failure.
Friday’s incident marked the first nationwide FAA ground stop since January 2023, when a malfunction involving the agency’s pilot notification system disrupted thousands of flights.
Although the nationwide restriction has ended, travelers flying to or from Cape Cod, Nantucket and Martha’s Vineyard are advised to check directly with their airlines for updated flight information before heading to the airport.
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