The United States orders to suspend flights throughout the country for security reasons

This Friday afternoon, the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) ordered the total suspension of operations at all airports in the country, without providing additional information on the specific causes. In a statement posted on its website, the agency mentions "extraordinary circumstances and security reasons", so all the aircraft, even those that were about to take off, will remain on the ground until further notice.

"A nationwide ground stop order has been issued for all US airports following a communication problem affecting all Air Route Air Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the problem. We will provide immediate updates as soon as we have them," said Sean Duffy, the Trump administration's Secretary of Transportation.

According to Air Current, there have been various incidents in air traffic control (ATC) radar frequencies and/or capabilities.

The last time something of this caliber occurred (the first since 9/11, 2001), was in January 2023, due to a computer failure in the NOTAM system, which communicates essential messages for air safety to pilots and airlines, such as the status or closure of runways at airports, construction, technical problems and other risks. Without reliable access to that information, the FAA decided to halt the takeoffs as a precaution. The incident took almost two hours to resolve.

Subsequent investigation concluded that files had been accidentally deleted during synchronization efforts between the primary and backup databases. The FAA said it found no evidence of a cyberattack, but the incident still caused thousands of delays and cancellations and highlighted the vulnerability of some US aviation technology systems.

The tension is high right now. In recent weeks, Europe has experienced a wave of bomb threats against commercial flights that have forced planes to be diverted, emergency protocols activated and even military fighters mobilized to escort aircraft. Last week, more than a dozen flights were threatened on routes to and from Dublin, Helsinki, Madrid, Copenhagen and Warsaw. An Aer Lingus plane covering the Dublin-Rome route had to land at a French military base, while Italian fighters escorted a Finnair flight to Rome. The next day new alerts were registered in France, the Czech Republic, Denmark and Hungary.

The US, since before the legislative elections, has feared attacks committed or inspired by Iran. In fact, this month the Secretary of the Treasury, Scott Bessent, moved to live with his family on a military base due to direct threats.