FAA Orders Nationwide Flight Ground Stop

The FAA ordered a nationwide ground stop Friday afternoon, requiring departing flights to remain at their origin until further notice because of extraordinary circumstances and safety concerns. The order affected airports across the country, including Reno and Los Angeles; inbound international flights were to be handled case by case. The FAA did not immediately identify the cause, and its advisory did not confirm reports of communication-frequency outages and equipment problems at some facilities as the source of the disruption. The ground stop was ongoing, and travelers were advised to check with their airlines for updates.