The Federal Aviation Administration halted every departure at every U.S. airport Friday, Nov. 13, after a communications outage that started at the Kansas City Air Route Traffic Control Center spread nationwide.

The ground stop stranded planes at Kansas City International Airport. Jackson Overstreet, a KCI spokesperson, said around 3:30 p.m. Eastern—2:30 p.m. Central that two flights ready for takeoff were held on the ground after the order came down, The Kansas City Star reported.

"We're holding flights at MCI until this is lifted," Overstreet said.

KCI's departure board listed about 80 flights scheduled for Friday afternoon and evening. Overstreet said passengers should stay in touch with their airlines about delays.

The FAA cited "extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety" in its advisory. The agency ordered all departing traffic to remain grounded until further notice. Planes already in the air were allowed to continue to their destinations. Inbound international flights would be handled case by case.

Outage traced to Kansas City center

Problems first surfaced around 2:30 p.m. Central time at the Kansas City center, which manages high-altitude air traffic over the middle of the country, according to multiple reports. The outage then spread to other centers, according to The South Pasadenan. Chicago O'Hare and Chicago Midway were grounded for equipment outages before the FAA expanded the order to the entire country, the outlet reported.

Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said on X that a "communication issue" was affecting all 22 Air Route Traffic Control Centers (ARTCCs), the facilities that guide planes at cruising altitude between airports. He said FAA technicians were investigating.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin told reporters there was no indication yet that "this was a nefarious attack against us," KMBC reported. He called it "just a telecommunications outage," according to KMBC.

"Everybody's safe. There's no reason to be concerned about your loved ones if they're flying," Mullin said, according to KMBC.

Nationwide scope

As of 5 p.m. Eastern time, more than 10,000 flights were delayed and more than 1,200 were canceled within, into or out of the U.S. as of 5:45 ET, according to FlightAware, Yahoo News reported. About 3,100 aircraft were airborne and bound for U.S. airports at the time of the stop, according to The Weather Channel.

Mullin said it would "take some time" for the issue to be resolved, according to Yahoo News. No confirmed timeline for lifting the stop had been established. Reports on an estimated end time conflicted, with some outlets citing 11 p.m. Eastern.

This was only the third nationwide ground stop in modern history. This marks the first nationwide ground stop since January 2023, when a key FAA computer system malfunctioned, according to KMBC. That 2023 outage involved the FAA's Notice to Air Missions (NOTAM) system, which provides flight crews with critical safety information, according to WFTV.

Aging infrastructure

Congress approved $12.5 billion to overhaul outdated air traffic control technology, according to KMBC. Miles of old copper wires have been replaced with fiber optic lines. But Duffy has said another $30 billion will be needed to finish the work, and the White House has begun lobbying Congress to approve it, KMBC reported.

Aviation safety expert Steve Arroyo, a former United Airlines pilot, told KMBC the problem appeared similar to a regional outage in September that disrupted hundreds of flights across the Northeast, except on a nationwide scale. He said it may be linked to the outdated technology controllers rely on.

Passengers with flights out of KCI should check directly with their airlines for updated departure information.