UPDATE: FAA lifts ground stop; stranded passengers react

MFR urges passengers to check directly with their airline; massive flight delays blamed on ‘communication issue’ Update: 5:43 p.m.: The Federal Aviation Administration says airplane departures can resume after the agency lifted a nationwide ground stop caused by communications problems, The Associated Press reported Friday night. 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. Certain U.S. flights had already been cleared for departure, including flights within Alaska and Hawaii, as have some international flights that are departing US airspace. This was the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023 when a key FAA computer system malfunctioned. Before that the last time had been after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.

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