Akeanon Deplaned In New York Amid Rare U.S. Nationwide Air Traffic Ground Stop

​New York City-  — A Filipino-American traveler with roots in Numancia, Aklan, was among thousands of stranded air passengers across the United States after federal aviation regulators ordered an immediate nationwide ground stop due to a widespread air traffic control communications outage.

​Via Laurente, a Fil-Am originally from Numancia, said she was already aboard a California-bound flight at a New York City airport when passengers were instructed to deplane following the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) sudden halt on all departing aircraft.

​The FAA issued the rare nationwide ground stop at 3:54 p.m. Eastern Time on Friday, November 13 (4:54 a.m. Philippine Standard Time on Saturday, November 14), citing “extraordinary circumstances” and safety precautions after telecommunication issues disrupted operations across multiple Air Route Traffic Control Centers.

​U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin confirmed during a Friday night briefing that the disruption was caused by overloaded switches and routers—stemming from outdated equipment—rather than a cyberattack or security threat.

​While aircraft already airborne were permitted to land safely, all departing flights across the country were frozen for four hours and 21 minutes until U.S. airspace reopened at 8:15 p.m. EST (9:15 a.m. PST).

​The outage triggered over 4,000 flight cancellations and more than 10,000 delays nationwide, leaving passengers at major cross-country hubs like New York and California facing long rebooking lines and lingering weekend schedule disruptions.

​Friday’s incident marked only the third nationwide U.S. ground stop in modern aviation history, following the September 11, 2001 attacks and a January 2023 computer system malfunction.