Ground stop issued at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport due to "extraordinary circumstances," FAA says

Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport has been put under a ground stop due to an unusual alert by the Federal Aviation Administration.

Atlanta is just one of the airports across the country reporting closures or ground stops on Friday afternoon. While the FAA's website noted that Hartsfield-Jackson was under a "departure delay," the airport confirmed with CBS News Atlanta that all outgoing flights have been stopped.

The federal agency wrote in an alert that the ground stop was "due to extraordinary circumstances and for reasons of safety."

According to a post on X by Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy, the nationwide ground stop is due to a communication issue impacting all air traffic control centers.

"FAA technicians are investigating the issue," Duffy wrote.

At a press conference after the alert was issued, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Markwayne Mullin said that the public had no reason to be afraid and that the situation was connection with a telecommunication outage.

"There was no indication as of yet this was a nefarious attack against us," Mullin said.

In a statement, Atlanta airport officials say that arriving flights will be permitted to land, but departures are temporarily suspended. Travelers should check with their airlines for any updates to their flights this evening.

According to Flight Aware, more than 3,000 planes are in the air over the U.S. While those planes may land, they might not necessarily find an open jet bridge to deplane once they get to the gates.

United and American respond to flight issues

United and American Airlines said in statements on X that flights already in the air will continue.

United Airlines said while domestic flights will not depart, "international departures are being managed on a case-by-case basis by the FAA."

American Airlines said it expects disruptions for the rest of the day.

"It will be all hands on deck across American to get customers on their way as soon as possible when the FAA lifts this nationwide ground stop," the airline said.

A rare nationwide ground stop

Nationwide ground stops are rare, with only two since 2001. There was a nationwide ground stop on Sept. 11 because of the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center and at the Pentagon.

Another ground stop in 2023 paused departures nationwide after the outage of a critical pilot notification system.

This is a developing story. Check back with CBS News Atlanta for more updates.