The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) grounded all departing flights nationwide on Friday (local time) after a communications failure hit air traffic control centres, in only the second such shutdown since the 11 September 2001 attacks.
Nearly 7000 flights were delayed or cancelled, according to flight-tracking service FlightAware. Planes already in the air were allowed to land, but those on the ground could not take off.
Air New Zealand says it is closely monitoring the situation.
"For Air New Zealand flights departing the USA to New Zealand, at this stage we've proactively delayed these services by two hours as a precaution while we assess the situation," a spokesperson told RNZ.
The disruption is the latest and most dramatic sign of strain on a US air traffic control system beset by equipment and communications failures, controller shortages and ageing infrastructure.
"The FAA issued a nationwide ground stop for all US airports following a communication issue impacting all Air Route Traffic Control Centers. FAA technicians are investigating the issue. We will provide immediate updates as we have them," Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said in a post on X.
Airline officials said the FAA had not indicated when the ground stop might be lifted, but there were preliminary indications the communications issues were improving in some places.
The world's busiest airspace has experienced setbacks in recent years that have disrupted flights and risked safety. In January 2025, a midair collision at Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport killed 67 people. The White House and Department of Transportation urged Congress on Friday to approve a further US$30.1 billion to upgrade the United States' ageing airports and air traffic control system.
Aviation security concerns
The FAA announced the nationwide ground stop at 3.54pm ET (2054 GMT, 9.54am NZ time). Shortly before the announcement, the FAA halted traffic in Chicago due to air traffic control communications issues.
"If the ground stop continues through the evening, it likely will take the weekend to resolve the disruptions to airlines' networks," said Robert Mann, an aviation analyst and principal of R.W. Mann & Co.
The only other nationwide ground stop since the 11 September attacks came in January 2023, when the FAA halted domestic departures for less than two hours.
The outage comes amid heightened concern about aviation security worldwide after a wave of hoax bomb threats this month disrupted dozens of passenger flights across Europe, forcing unscheduled landings and prompting fighter jets to escort or intercept aircraft.
There was no immediate indication the US communications failure was related to those incidents or caused by a cyberattack.
The US National Weather Service also said on Friday it was experiencing nationwide internet and communications issues. There was no immediate indication the two incidents were connected.
Air New Zealand delays flights
Air New Zealand is delaying its services to the US, with all flights across the country grounded.
A nationwide ground stop was issued by the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) after a communications failure hit air traffic control centres.
An Air New Zealand spokesperson said it had delayed all four Air New Zealand-operated flights to the US on Saturday by two hours.
"Air New Zealand is closely monitoring the situation in the United States of America following the nationwide ground stop issued by the FAA.
"For Air New Zealand flights departing the USA to New Zealand, at this stage we've proactively delayed these services by two hours as a precaution while we assess the situation.
"We don't have any flights scheduled to depart New Zealand for the USA until this evening, and there is currently no impact to these services.
The spokesperson said it would contact affected customers directly and share updates on the travel alert section of the Air New Zealand website and the Air NZ app.
- Reuters / RNZ