Courtney Subramanian

All Airports Are Ground Stopped Until Further Notice: FAA

Ray LaHood, Markwayne Mullin, Nick Wadhams, Tyler Kendall, George Ferguson, Courtney Subramanian, Ed Ludlow, Joe Matthews, Kayleigh Lyons, Nora Melinda, Jeanne Shanzano, Rick Davis

The Federal Aviation Administration imposed a nationwide ground stop on U.S. airports following a critical telecommunication outage that halted all takeoffs while federal officials confirmed no evidence of a cyber attack or terrorism threat. Although the White House launched a whole-of-government investigation into whether the failure stems from legacy infrastructure or recent AI upgrades, the disruption has triggered significant market volatility, stranded passengers, and renewed political pressure for $30 billion in air traffic control modernization funding. Amidst the aviation paralysis, a SpaceX Starship launch proceeded successfully with stage separation, though the mission failed to catch the booster on the launch tower.