US ground stop live updates: Passengers stranded and thousands of flights delayed as FAA order lifted

A ground stop for all planes in the U.S. was lifted Friday night after hours of chaos, with flights delayed and passengers stranded.

Around 8:30 p.m., Trump administration officials announced the order was over and said there was no evidence of a cyberattack. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy detailed that the nation’s aging traffic control system got “overloaded with data.”

The Federal Aviation Administration issued the stop around 4 p.m. Eastern Time, creating chaos at airports nationwide. Roughly 3,000 planes were in the air when the ground stop order was issued, Duffy said. Flights already in the air were allowed to land, but most were not allowed to leave.

Duffy warned that it would take some time to get the American aviation system back to normal after the order.

Passengers were stranded at airports waiting for information about when they might catch their flight. People found seats in the hallway and waited or checked their phones for the latest updates.

“I’m just bummed. I wanted to go home, I mean, it’s great to be here but not in the airport,” Emily Esterly told a Miami news station.

Though the ground stop has been lifted, the disruption for passengers was far from over.

From Boston to Seattle and New York to Los Angeles, passengers crowded departure halls and airline desks as delays and cancellations mounted and aircraft remained parked at gates.

Thousands of passengers faced being stranded overnight. Edward Kargbo, 50, from West Chester, Pennsylvania, had been scheduled to take a 9pm Ethiopian Airlines flight to Lomé, Togo.

Instead, he planned to spend the night at the airport before a rescheduled flight at 6am on Saturday.

“I have to squat the night here,” he said. “I’m stranded.”

Louise Maher, 47, was also caught up in the disruption at Newark after her British Airways flight to London was disrupted by the aviation meltdown.

“I might cry at some point ⁠but not yet,” she said.

Travellers in the UK are facing disruption after air traffic control problems brought flights to a standstill across the US.

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) halted all flights nationwide for several hours on Friday “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety” following communications problems at regional air traffic control centres.

London Heathrow’s website said an 8.20am flight to Dallas Fort Worth had been cancelled, along with a 9.55am flight to Charlotte and a 10am flight to Houston.

A 10.35am British Airways flight to New York City was also cancelled, while multiple other outgoing flights on US carriers were listed as delayed.

Responding to customers on X, British Airways apologised for possible delays and cancellations.

It also recommended passengers travel to the airport as planned to arrive for the original departure time, unless informed otherwise.

A British Airways spokesperson said: “Following the air traffic control issue in the United States, our flights are operating as normal.

Whilst this matter was entirely outside of our control, we want to thank our customers for bearing with us, and our colleagues for supporting them and helping to minimise any disruption.”

A spokesperson for Manchester Airport said there is not expected to be any “significant” delays on Saturday.

It is understood the situation is expected to have minimal impact on London Gatwick Airport.

According to NBC News, Hertz car rental saw an increase in one-way rental requests from travelers impacted by the ground stop.

"Our teams are closely monitoring demand and working quickly to accommodate travelers and manage vehicle availability across our network as conditions evolve,” the company said.

JetBlue warned that, because of the ground stop it expected disruptions to continue on Saturday.

“We expect disruptions to continue into tomorrow, including additional cancellations,” the company posted on social media Friday night.

The company said passengers could find a fee waiver online. They could also find options for rebooking their flight.