FAA issues national ground stop

Much of the air traffic across the U.S. was suddenly shut down Friday after the Federal Aviation Administration ordered a nationwide ground stop for all departing flights “due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety.” The unexpected and highly unusual alert, which was issued at 3:54 p.m. ET, contained no other information beyond stating that “all departing traffic should remain ground stopped until further notice.” Follow along for live coverage. “Inbound international flights will be managed on a case by case basis,” the FAA said. When the FAA issued the alert, 4,042 flights headed for U.S. destinations were airborne, according to Flightradar24, a Swedish service that displays real-time aircraft flight tracking information. Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said there was “no indication as of yet” that there was anything “nefarious” that caused the ground stop.