Ground stop

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. 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 affect flights en route.

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

• On September 11, 2001, the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a ground stop for the entire United States as a precaution against possible additional terrorist attacks by airplane. In addition to grounding international flights which had not yet departed, flights already in the air were either returned to their origin departure airport, or diverted to Canadian airports in Operation Yellow Ribbon. The ground stop was lifted on September 13, when departures from airports within the US also resumed. This was the first ever closure of this magnitude.
• In January 2014, Nav Canada issued a ground stop for Toronto Pearson due to cold weather. The airport authority said the extreme cold was causing "equipment freezing and safety issues for employees."
• On January 25, 2019, the FAA declared a ground stop at New York's LaGuardia Airport over a staffing shortage caused by the government shutdown.
• On January 10, 2022, the FAA issued a ground stop for the West Coast of the US and Hawaii. It is speculated it was related to a North Korean missile test, but no official reason was given by the FAA.
• On July 25, 2022, a ground stop was declared at Dallas Love Field after a woman fired a gun into the air near the ticket counters, prompting an evacuation of the terminal.
• On January 11, 2023, a nationwide ground stop was declared across the US following the failure of the FAA's NOTAM system.
• On February 4, 2023, an immediate ground stop was issued by the FAA on the east coast of the Carolinas, impacting Myrtle Beach International Airport, Charleston International Airport and Wilmington International Airport, due to the 2023 Chinese balloon incident.
• On June 7, 2023, the FAA issued a ground stop at LaGuardia International Airport in New York City due to extreme smoke haze in the area from Canadian wildfires.
• On July 19, 2024, Delta, American and United Airlines issued a "global ground stop" amid global computer systems outages.
• On October 14, 2025, Austin–Bergstrom International Airport had a ground stop due to staffing, potentially related to the 2025 United States federal government shutdown

References

References

1. "What's a Ground Stop?".
2. (March 21, 2024). "Ground Stop".
3. "Section 13. Ground Stop(s)". Federal Aviation Administration.
4. (2024-07-19). "Airlines Restart Flights but Disruptions are Expected to Persist". The New York Times.
5. ddancis. (2021-09-10). "Shutting Down the Sky: The Federal Aviation Administration on 9/11".
6. (2012-04-18). "NAV CANADA - NAV CANADA and the 9/11 Crisis".
7. [http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/pearson-airport-delays-what-you-need-to-know-1.2486701 Pearson airport delays: What you need to know], CBC.ca, January 7, 2014; retrieved January 7, 2014. {{webarchive. link. (January 7, 2014)
8. (25 January 2019). "Air Traffic Sick Calls Force Brief Ground Stop at LaGuardia, Cause Total Chaos Along East Coast".
9. (11 January 2022). "FAA's Statement on Mysterious Air Traffic Halt Leaves More Questions Than Answers".
10. . (July 25, 2022). ["Law enforcement identifies suspect who fired shots at Dallas Love Field, forcing airport evacuations"](https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/local/shots-reportedly-fired-at-dallas-love-field-airport-dallas-police-say/287-a0fa0c01-dca6-40d9-bb00-bf244b4b13ed). *[[WFAA]]*.
11. (July 25, 2022). "Dallas police shoot armed woman after several shots fired inside Love Field airport". [[The Dallas Morning News]].
12. Prosser, Maggie. (July 25, 2022). "What we know about the shooting at Love Field airport". [[The Dallas Morning News]].
13. "ATCSCC Advisory".
14. (11 January 2023). "FAA system outage leads to flight delays across U.S.".
15. "FAA News release on twitter".
16. "FAA Grounds Planes In Carolinas As Chinese Spy Balloon Suspected Nearby". [[Forbes]].
17. "Ground stop issued at Myrtle Beach International Airport due to suspected Chinese spy balloon".
18. "Ground stop issued along Carolina coast after unconfirmed sightings of Chinese spy balloon".
19. . (June 7, 2023). ["FAA issues ground stop at LaGuardia airport due to smoke"](https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/07/business/faa-issues-ground-stop-laguardia-due-to-smoke/index.html). *CNN*.
20. (2024-07-20). "Live updates: Major global IT outage grounds flights, hits banks and businesses around the world".
21. (October 14, 2025). "Ground stop alert issued for Austin airport due to staffing, US FAA says".