At approximately 4 p.m. Eastern time on the 13th, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered a halt to flights nationwide due to “extraordinary circumstances” and safety considerations, while international flights were scheduled on a case-by-case basis.
According to CNN News Flash, it is currently unclear when the nationwide flight ban will be lifted.
There are only two precedents in the modern history of the United States for a complete shutdown of flights across an entire country. One was when the September 11 terrorist attacks occurred in 2001, and the other was the “Notification of Air Missions” (NOTAM) incident in January 2023.
In its statement, the FAA did not give a specific reason for the complete suspension of all flights. An FAA spokesperson said the Air Route Traffic Control Center, which is responsible for dispatching flights across the country, experienced a communications failure.
