Jay Jackson
14 Nov 2026

WASHINGTON, DC - The U.S. has grounded all departing flights across the country. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) imposed the nationwide ban late Friday afternoon because of what it described as "safety concerns."

All departing flights were grounded as at 3:54pm (eastern time) Friday. The ban is to remain in effect until further notice. It is understood flights already in the air will be permitted to land.

At this stage, inbound international flights are being treated on a case-by-case basis as to whether they will be allowed to land in the United States.

The FAA says the disruption has come as a result of a communications issue hitting air traffic control centers across the country.

"The FAA issued ​a nationwide ground stop for all U.S. airports following a communication issue ​impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said late Friday, soon after the ban came into effect.

It is understood around 7,000 flights have been grounded as a result of the emergency measure.

Moments ago,  at 5:06pm (eastern time), the FAA posted on X: "There has been a temporary telecommunications outage - 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."