FAA Halts Flights Amid Communications Outage

The Federal Aviation Administration halted flights nationwide on November 13, citing safety concerns and what it described as extraordinary circumstances. The action followed an unusual radio-frequency outage affecting several busy areas, including Chicago and the Northeast.

FAA status updates specifically listed ground stops at Chicago O’Hare International Airport and Midway International Airport, linking them to a failure of airport systems. The agency’s central traffic operations hub also flagged communications problems, but did not provide further details about the cause.

On November 13, the hub said flights were being stopped immediately for safety reasons. The available updates did not establish how long the stops would last.

Chicago’s aviation department and officials at the two airports had been contacted for additional information. No further details were available in the updates.