Nationwide FAA Ground Stop Halts All US Flights After Communications Failure

All flight departures across the United States have been temporarily halted because of a failure in the communications system. The Federal Aviation Administration's nationwide ground stop has left millions of people across the country facing travel chaos.

The ground stop is only the second nationwide stoppage since 9/11. Coming just ahead of the weekend, the interruption has made the travel disruption worse.

Former FAA safety team representative Kyle Bailey said grounding flights is the safest course of action amid the nationwide communications failure, adding that nobody really knows what is going on.

The stoppage has also hit professional sports schedules. Nine NBA games were scheduled for Friday and five for Saturday, and some teams have run into travel problems.

According to the Associated Press, the Brooklyn Nets were trying to get from New Orleans to Memphis when their flight was halted. Coincidentally, the Memphis Grizzlies are also in New Orleans for a Friday night game against the Pelicans.

The Grizzlies were one of a few teams scheduled to fly out on Friday night after their games. The Cleveland Cavaliers and Chicago Bulls had planned to do the same. The Detroit Pistons, meanwhile, managed to fly to Miami earlier on Friday with no issues.

Ice hockey's NHL has been affected too. Just four teams are in action on Friday, with two games scheduled, and none of them play on Saturday, but the other 28 teams in the league do.

Most teams made it to their destinations before everything shut down, but the San Jose Sharks were not as lucky. Their flight to Utah for a Saturday night game against the Mammoth did not get out in time.

A full college football slate is scheduled for Saturday, and NFL teams are preparing to travel for Sunday's games, so the effects of the stoppage extend well beyond the playing field.

Once flights start up again, delays are likely, meaning more travel headaches could be ahead for teams and ordinary passengers alike. The story is still developing.