FAA lifts four-hour nationwide ground stop after communications failure

The Federal Aviation Administration lifted a nationwide ground stop at 8:15 p.m. Eastern after a roughly four-hour shutdown triggered by instability in air-traffic communications and radar systems. Reuters reported that the fault overloaded network switches and routers; officials said there was no evidence of a cyberattack or rogue artificial intelligence.

More than 6,600 flights were cancelled and about 8,600 delayed during the disruption. The episode adds urgency to the FAA’s planned overhaul of ageing air-traffic technology, a programme estimated at roughly $50 billion.