FAA ground stop lifted; flights at DFW and Dallas Love Field airports delayed

The rare nationwide ground stop issued by the Federal Aviation Administration on Friday afternoon has been canceled, the department announced Friday night, with officials saying all departing flights were halted due to "extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety."

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said it will take some time to "unwind" what happened on Friday afternoon.    

The FAA said the safety of the flying public is always its highest priority. 

"The FAA lifted the ground stop and some flight departures are resuming," it said in a statement. "Before clearing flights to resume, we thoroughly tested our systems to confirm they were stable and that operations remain reliable. Passengers should contact their airlines for flight updates."

Both Dallas-Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field Airport are still seeing delays.

Communications issue causing ground stop, sources say

Multiple sources tell CBS News that an update to the private communications network that connects America's air traffic control system caused the system to reboot. When the FAA's telecommunications infrastructure rebooted, it crashed, causing the communications outage. The system is operated by technology and communications company L3Harris. 

We have reached out to L3Harris for comment.       

FAA cites communication issues

The FAA says there were communication issues impacting a number of air route traffic control centers.

Getting all the flights back on track will take time. It is unknown when that could occur.

"By order of the Federal Aviation Command Center all airports are ground stopped. All departing traffic should remain ground stopped until further notice. Inbound international flights will be managed on a case by case basis," the Air Traffic Control System Command Center said in its alert.      

DHS Secretary says no "nefarious act"

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters in a briefing outside the White House that "there was no indication, as of yet, that this was a nefarious act against us. It was just a telecommunication outage, as of right now."

"There is no indication, we had no reason to believe, that as of right now, that this was a threat to the United States," Mullin said. "This was a telecommunication outage throughout FAA. Out of an abundance of caution, we have grounded all the flights. And all the flights are accounted for."

He said flights will be able to land safely. 

DFW and Love Field 

Our CBS News Texas chopper showed all the planes parked at the terminal or on the tarmac at DFW Airport, one of the busiest airports in the country.

At Love Field, 175 flights have been delayed; 64 have been canceled. At DFW Airport, 586 flights have been delayed, down from over 800; 624 flights have been canceled. Passengers should check with their airlines for the latest flight status.

DFW Airport said it is coordinating with the FAA.

"We thank our passengers for their patience during this national travel disruption. As flights begin to resume, please continue to check with your airline for flight status."

Just before 8 p.m., the first flight in more than 5 hours departed DFW Airport. It was American Airlines flight 192 to Barcelona, Spain.   

"As the FAA lifts the nationwide ground stop, passengers are encouraged to allow extra time for baggage drop-off and security screening," Love Field said in a statement.

American Airlines said it is focused on operating as many remaining flights as possible Friday evening "while positioning the airline for the strongest possible recovery tomorrow and in the days ahead."   

AA issued the following statement to CBS News Texas:

"For the remainder of the evening, we are prioritizing flights to non-hub cities, as well as international flying, to position aircraft and crew where they are needed to help restore our operation. We expect residual delays and cancellations tonight and into tomorrow following the FAA's nationwide ground stop.
We're grateful to our team members for their continued work to care for our customers and minimize the impact of this disruption as much as possible."  

Southwest Airlines said, after consulting with the FAA, it has decided to resume a limited number of flights Friday night.

"After consulting with the FAA and to ensure the highest levels of safety, Southwest Airlines is resuming a limited number of flights this evening. These actions will help position our operation for Saturday morning, with schedules adjusted based on the location and availability of our Crews and our aircraft.
Southwest has instituted a waiver to allow Customers to cancel their flights or rebook them at a later date without penalty ...
We remain in contact with the FAA and will continue to adjust our plans as needed. Nothing is more important to Southwest than the Safety of our Customers and Employees."  

Delta said a travel waiver is in place, allowing customers to change their flights at no extra cost.

Delays have piled up at major airports across the country, including Boston, Atlanta, Miami, Pittsburgh, New York City, Los Angeles and Baltimore.   

This nationwide ground stop has only happened two other times. The first was on Sept. 11 in the wake of the terror attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C. The second was in January of 2023 when there was a system failure in the FAA's Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system. That groundstop lasted nearly 12 hours.    

Ground stop could impact college sports games this weekend

There are multiple reports of college football teams that haven't made it to their Saturday game locations. 

Statement from the Southeastern Conference on FAA ground stop:

"The Southeastern Conference is aware of the FAA's nationwide ground stop and the potential impact on team travel for this weekend's competitions.
We are in close communication with our member institutions to assess potential disruptions and coordinate appropriate responses. The safety and well-being of student-athletes, coaches, and team personnel remain our highest priority.
We will continue to monitor developments and work with our institutions to determine whether any adjustments to scheduled competitions become necessary."

The Big 12 Conference said it is evaluating potential changes to the college football schedule.

"Due to the national FAA ground stop impacting team travel, the Big 12 Conference is evaluating potential changes to Saturday's football schedule. The Conference will continue to monitor the travel disruptions alongside its member institutions and provide updates for Saturday's games."