All departing flights grounded at US airports
According to Alhurra, the US Federal Aviation Administration announced on Friday that all departing flights nationwide have been grounded due to a widespread communication failure in air traffic control centers. According to the 'FlightAware' service, the disruption, which began shortly before 4:00 PM Eastern Time, has led to the cancellation of over 10,000 flights. While aircraft already in the air were permitted to land, those on the ground were prevented from taking off. US Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy stated on X that the failure affected all air traffic control centers and that technical teams are working to identify the cause. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin told reporters that there are no indications of a malicious attack so far, though officials are not ruling out any possibilities at this stage. He confirmed that President Donald Trump has been briefed. No timeline for resuming flights has been set, and reports indicate that the disruption has extended to flights from Canada and Europe.