Ground stop

A ground stop is an air traffic control procedure that requires all aircraft that fit certain criteria to remain on the ground. Applicable criteria may be airport-specific, equipment-specific or airspace-specific, depending on the exact event that caused the ground stop to occur. Ground stops can have disruptive downstream effects, sometimes even after they have been lifted and operations have resumed. A ground stop typically causes flights to be delayed or canceled, which can further cause planes and flight crews to be unable to reach the location of their next scheduled flight.

Description

A ground stop is an air traffic control measure that slows or halts the flow of aircraft that meet certain criteria, requiring all aircraft of a certain criteria to remain on the ground. Often, the criteria are aircraft inbound to a given airport, where a ground stop is the halting of departing aircraft destined for one particular airport or for a specific geographic area.[clarification needed] The criteria could be airport-specific or perhaps equipment- or airspace-specific, depending on the exact event that caused the ground stop to occur. A ground stop does not usually affect flights en route (but see the first event cited below under "Notable examples").

Use

For example, if a ground stop is called for Newark Liberty International Airport, aircraft departing for Newark from other airports will not be given departure clearance until such time that the ground stop in Newark is lifted. This allows, in this example, for Newark to deal with the task at hand before preparing for arriving aircraft once the ground stop is lifted.

Ground stops may occur during an operational event (e.g., a computer outage), a thunderstorm or other weather concerns (e.g., due to the danger of wind shear or hail), or another hazard.

A ground stop can have cascading effects on flight schedules. Flights that have yet to depart may be delayed or canceled by the airline. Additionally, pilots and flight crew may be unable to reach their assigned aircraft on time, leading to further disruptions. As a result, subsequent flights may also be delayed or canceled due to crew members being unavailable.

Notable examples

United States nationwide ground stops

  • On September 11, 2001, the National Operations Manager for the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration issued an unprecedented ground stop for the entire United States after the second plane hijacked that day crashed into the World Trade Center. It was Ben Sliney's first day in his position as NOM. After a third hijacked plane crashed into the national military headquarters in the Pentagon, Sliney issued another unprecedented order for all civilian airborne flights to land immediately except for fire fighting planes. The national airspace was closed to incoming international flights, and many were diverted to Canadian airports in what was called Operation Yellow Ribbon, which also cleared Canadian airspace. The US ground stop was lifted in phases over several days, with most departures resuming on September 13.
  • On January 11, 2023, a nationwide ground stop was declared across the US following the failure of the FAA's NOTAM system.
  • On November 13, 2026, a nationwide ground stop was issued by the FAA due to a communication issue.

Ground stops

See also

References

  1. ↑ "What's a Ground Stop?". businesstravel.about.com. Archived from the original on 2014-04-12.
  2. ↑ "Ground Stop". Pilot/Controller Glossary. March 21, 2024. Retrieved July 20, 2024.
  3. ↑ "Section 13. Ground Stop(s)". Traffic Management National, Center, and Terminal. Federal Aviation Administration.
  4. ↑ Chokshi, Niraj; Taylor, Derrick Bryson; Kilgannon, Corey (2024-07-19). "Airlines Restart Flights but Disruptions are Expected to Persist". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2024-07-20.
  5. 1 2 Dwyre, Megan (2021-09-10). "Shutting Down the Sky: The Federal Aviation Administration on 9/11". The Text Message. Archived from the original on 2021-09-10. Retrieved 2024-07-20.
  6. 1 2 3 https://dn760100.eu.archive.org/0/items/OriginalSeptember112001FaaDocuments/faa4_text.pdf
  7. ↑ "NAV CANADA and the 9/11 Crisis". NAV CANADA. 2012-04-18. Archived from the original on 2012-04-18. Retrieved 2024-07-20.
  8. ↑ "ATCSCC Advisory". www.fly.faa.gov. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  9. ↑ "FAA system outage leads to flight delays across U.S." CNBC. 11 January 2023. Retrieved 2023-01-11.
  10. ↑ Siemaszko, Corky (November 13, 2026). "Ground stop ordered for all airports nationwide for 'reasons of safety'". NBC News. Retrieved November 13, 2026.
  11. ↑ "FAA issues nationwide ground stop, pausing all flights". seattletimes.com. 13 November 2026. Retrieved 13 November 2026.
  12. ↑ "FAA Orders National Ground Stop". Flying (magazine). 13 November 2026. Retrieved 13 November 2026.
  13. ↑ Pearson airport delays: What you need to know, CBC.ca, January 7, 2014; retrieved January 7, 2014. Archived January 7, 2014, at the Wayback Machine
  14. ↑ "Air Traffic Sick Calls Force Brief Ground Stop at LaGuardia, Cause Total Chaos Along East Coast". 25 January 2019.
  15. ↑ "FAA's Statement on Mysterious Air Traffic Halt Leaves More Questions Than Answers". 11 January 2022.
  16. ↑ "Law enforcement identifies suspect who fired shots at Dallas Love Field, forcing airport evacuations". WFAA. Dallas, Texas. July 25, 2022. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  17. ↑ Prosser, Maggie; Landers, Jamie; Williams, Michael; Arnold, Arnold; Choi, Hojun (July 25, 2022). "Dallas police shoot armed woman after several shots fired inside Love Field airport". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  18. ↑ Prosser, Maggie (July 25, 2022). "What we know about the shooting at Love Field airport". The Dallas Morning News. Dallas, Texas. Retrieved July 26, 2022.
  19. ↑ "FAA News release on twitter". Twitter. Retrieved 2023-02-04.
  20. ↑ Bushard, Brian. "FAA Grounds Planes In Carolinas As Chinese Spy Balloon Suspected Nearby". Forbes. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  21. ↑ Accettulla, Kevin. "Ground stop issued at Myrtle Beach International Airport due to suspected Chinese spy balloon". WBTW. Archived from the original on 4 February 2023. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  22. ↑ "Ground stop issued along Carolina coast after unconfirmed sightings of Chinese spy balloon". WCNC. Retrieved 4 February 2023.
  23. ↑ "FAA issues ground stop at LaGuardia airport due to smoke". CNN. June 7, 2023. Archived from the original on June 7, 2023. Retrieved July 12, 2023.
  24. ↑ "Live updates: Major global IT outage grounds flights, hits banks and businesses around the world". NBC News. 2024-07-20. Retrieved 2024-07-20.
  25. ↑ "Ground stop alert issued for Austin airport due to staffing, US FAA says". Reuters. October 14, 2025.